Tangled Up in You
by revivingophelia
Summary: Lying to the mentally unstable chick wasn't his best idea ever. Eventual Eve/CM Punk, featuring Daniel Bryan, psycho!AJ and others. Set post Over the Limit 2012.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Tangled Up in You  
Author: Karen U  
Pairing/Character: Eve/CM Punk (eventual), AJ Lee, Daniel Bryan, others  
Disclaimer: No one you recognize belongs to me  
Rating: R/M  
Summary: lying to the mentally unstable chick wasn't his best decision ever.  
Spoilers: Over the Limit 2012; veers into my own little world after that  
Warnings: language, violence, adult situations

Part One

He made his way down the hallway, a frown evident on the WWE champion's face. He was tired and sore from his title defense the night before, and he knew that despite the replay that showed that the referee had counted Daniel Bryan's shoulders down for the three before he'd tapped out, there was still some controversy about the way the match had ended. That, however, wasn't all that was currently weighing on CM Punk's mind. Yes, he was well aware that Daniel was very likely to try to get another title shot based on the events of the night before... but he was also a bit concerned about what had occurred before his match last night as well.

He was concerned about what was going on with AJ.

The sad thing was, she'd actually seemed like a decent enough girl when she'd first come up to the main roster. But recently... Well, he'd been telling the truth the week before when she had come up to him and he'd ended up calling her unbalanced. Not his best moment, he knew, but he'd never really been a man known for his tact. Besides that, tactless or not, it was true. The girl *was* unbalanced. She'd gone so nuts on Natalya during a match that she'd been disqualified in under a minute a few weeks before, and she'd slapped her best friend to the ground twice in the past month. And then there was the 'match' that AJ'd had against Kaitlyn. Like the one against Natalya, it had been incredibly brief, but AJ had actually won that one... Though part of Punk wondered if the quick victory had something to do with Kaitlyn herself; he wondered if possibly Kaitlyn hadn't wanted to fight her best friend... despite the slaps the smaller girl had already delivered in previous weeks.

And now, it seemed AJ had her rather deranged sights set on him. He figured, of course, that she'd only come up to him in the first place because of his match against Daniel Bryan. She was obsessed with Daniel, he was the one facing the guy... so he had the short straw in the 'who want a pyscho coming after him' sweepstakes. He'd hoped that blowing her off would let her know that he had no intention of being a pawn in her game to try to get Daniel back... or whatever the hell she was doing. The problem was, it didn't seem to have worked. If it had worked, then she wouldn't have approached him again at last night's pay per view. And while he'd simply walked away from her then, Punk kind of figured that if calling her unbalanced right to her face hadn't been enough to deter her, then he doubted that just walking away from her would bring him any better luck... Which could be a problem because he really didn't know just how far AJ would got to get Daniel Bryan back. And if AJ's fixation with Daniel had somehow managed to slide into a fixation with him... Well, then he was really screwed. He didn't want a six month (and counting) title reign to be completely messed up by some chick that had gone completely psycho. And maybe that was cold or whatever, because he knew she was messed up over the breakup with Daniel and that Daniel had been a total ass to her... But the thing was, that had nothing to do with him, and he sure as hell didn't want to be tangled up in their mess. Unfortunately, as he turned the corner and saw a small form jump up from her spot on one of the crates, he realized that he was already tangled up in it, whether he wanted to be or not.

"You match was amazing last night!" AJ Lee chirped at him, smiling winningly, the diva looking like she'd decided to completely forget about the fact that he'd totally blown her off and insulted her mental state the last two times she'd come up to him.

"Thanks," he muttered in response, his gaze going anywhere but on her. He didn't really want to be cruel to the girl, but damn it, why wouldn't she just leave him alone?

"Did you celebrate your win last night?" the diva continued in that perky voice that he was starting to find entirely too creepy. She stepped forward and touched his arm, the movement causing Punk to jerk because he hadn't been looking at her and therefore hadn't seen it coming. Glancing down, he saw that the woman was looking up at him in what he considered to be a decidedly creepy fashion. She probably thought it was sexy, but it was really just freaking him out. "You know, Punk... If you wanted, *I* could help you... celebrate."

Oh, great. Now the crazy girl really was coming onto him. There was no mistaking her tone or the look she was giving him.

He jerked his arm away from her, ignoring the flash of hurt - maybe anger - in her eyes as he pulled away. "Don't think that's a good idea."

She pouted at him. "Why not?" she wanted to know, and Punk didn't think 'you're a psycho looney' made for a good response. In fact, it would probably just make things even worse... Which meant he needed a good answer. A feasible answer. So CM Punk did the only thing he could think of.

He lied through his teeth.

"Well, you know, AJ... I don't think my girlfriend would appreciate it if I did something like that. You don't want to cause problems between me and my girlfriend, do you?"

She blinked at him. "I didn't know you had a girlfriend. Who is she?"

He cleared his throat. "Well, we're trying to keep it quiet," Punk improvised, and from the way AJ's eyes narrowed, he knew that wasn't a good enough answer for her.

"You're lying, aren't you? You're not really-"

"I'm not lying."

"Then who is she?" AJ demanded, an edge to her voice now, and Punk knew he had to answer her, so as he saw a diva head down the hallway in the opposite direction, he said the first thing that came to mind.

"You won't tell anyone, right? If I tell you?"

AJ blinked at him. "Of course not," she said, and Punk's harmless lie suddenly grew a lot bigger and less harmless as he spoke again.

"It's Eve. I'm dating Eve."


	2. Chapter 2

Part Two

The woman made her way down the hall, her head held high. She refused - absolutely refused - to let the fact that people were talking about her behind her back as soon as she walked by have any effect on the way she carried herself. She knew, of course, what they said about her. She wasn't deaf, nor was she stupid. The truth was, she was probably one of the more intelligent people on the roster... Something that far too many people seemed to forget. All it took was a pretty face and a good body, and a guy already seemed to assume negative IQ points or something. It seemed to stun them when they discovered that she'd gone to college on a full academic scholarship... Not to mention the fact that she'd graduated from college with a degree in industrial and systems engineering, a major that often caused people to stare at her blankly when they heard it. Apparently, a woman being smart, attractive, and athletic was completely unheard of among most of the miscreants of the WWE. They were used to attractive and athletic... It was the intelligence that always threw them for a loop. Not just her intelligence, but any woman's.

"Eve? Eve, can I speak to you for a moment?" a voice asked as she passed, and because the person actually sounded somewhat polite - the woman approaching her had asked for a moment instead of demanding one - Eve turned to look at the diva that was approaching her.

"Is there a problem, Layla?" she wanted to know, and the British woman frowned slightly, adjusting her grip on the divas' title that was slung over her shoulder.

"I noticed that I didn't have a match tonight..."

"You defended your title at Over the Limit last night. We felt that earned you a night off," Eve replied, and Layla's frown deepened.

"Beth has a match, though..."

"She demanded one. Apparently, she's very angry about the fact that you beat her and feels she has something to prove. I gave her a match, but I wouldn't give her one against you because she has to earn another shot at the title," the woman said, and she saw the way Layla bit at her lip, the diva probably wondering what it was that had led Eve to believe that she'd earned a title match back at Extreme Rules. Granted, she'd been an injury replacement for Beth Phoenix, but still... She hadn't had a match in a year at that point.

"Then why..."

"I thought it was fitting to have you make your return at the pay per view where you'd had your last major match. You forced Michelle McCool to leave the WWE that night last year. You would have deserved a title shot after a feat like that, but you were injured. Consider your return match recognition for what you did last year by retiring Michelle. The match may have been... given to you... But you still had to win it in order to become the champion. You did that. And you retained last night. Enjoy the fact that you have a night off, Layla," Eve told her, then leaned a little closer to the woman. "You know, Layla... Right now, all the divas in the back - except maybe Beth - seem to be willing to forgive the way you acted for the year or so before you were injured. You might want to remember that... And make sure that you're seen talking to me as little as possible."

The older woman blinked at that, confusion flickering over her gaze. "I don't understand you."

"So few really do," Eve returned with a smirk, then headed off down the hallway again, shaking her head slightly as she did so. She knew what the other divas thought about her. She'd seen the things that Kelly had said on Twitter. Honestly, she'd been tempted to send Kelly a memo about it all... Not to yell at the younger diva. Just to correct all her spelling and grammar mistakes. Mean and petty, she knew, but really... Kelly's spelling and grammar was just sad. It wasn't just on Twitter, either. She did the same thing in emails, texts, even handwritten notes.

"Pathetic," Eve muttered, shaking her head a bit, then allowing herself a small smile as she reminded herself that Kelly was the one that was going to have to face a very angry Beth Phoenix later tonight... And it wasn't like Kelly didn't deserve it. The woman had bragged endlessly back when she'd been the divas' champion, Kelly going on and on about how she'd beaten Beth at two pay per views in a row... Beth had taken the title from Kelly on the third try, however, but that hadn't stopped Kelly from reminding Eve over and over again that she'd managed to beat Beth twice while both of Eve's attempts to get the title from the Glamazon - at Vengeance and again at Survivor Series - had come up short. Of course, so had everyone else's attempts - including Kelly's - up until Nikki Bella had taken advantage of an injured Beth during a lumberjill match on RAW. And since the Bellas weren't around for Beth to take her anger out on any longer, well... At least Beth still had Kelly to beat up on.

Heaving out a sigh, Eve stood there for a moment, her hand on her hip as she surveyed the somewhat organized chaos around her that was the backstage area during an episode of Monday Night RAW. It was something she actually enjoyed... The energy of it all. She'd liked it from the moment she had joined the company. And she intended to be a part of it for a long time. That, more than anything, was why she had sought a position of power in the company. Because she knew that WWE divas didn't always last long. In the past twelve months, at least half a dozen women had left, whether it was by their choice or not. Being a part of the administration meant that she had a chance to prove herself as an asset in other ways. That was the goal. And Eve Torres was more than willing to work as hard as necessary to obtain her goal... A long-term place in the company. Maybe even something with a corner office somewhere down the line.

Nodding her head at that, Eve took a deep breath, smiling slightly before she turned on her heel and headed back toward the office she was sharing with David Otunga for the night. Since the man had only recently returned after taking some personal time to deal with family issues, he had a lot to catch up on, and she'd agreed to help him get up to date, which meant she needed to get back. She'd just wanted to check and see how things were going out here, make sure there weren't any problems, and...

Eve frowned as she felt eyes on her, which she supposed really wasn't uncommon, but this... This felt different. Turning her head, she looked around for who it was, her brow furrowing as she caught sight of AJ Lee standing maybe ten feet away... The younger woman glaring at her like she'd done something horrible.

"Do you have a problem with something?" the Executive Administrator demanded, and AJ continued to scowl at her, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You don't deserve him," she spat out, causing Eve's brows to furrow in confusion - what in the world was AJ talking about - the smaller diva spinning on her heel and stalking off, leaving Eve to stare after her... The former divas' champion shaking her head before turning and heading on her way again.

"What a nutjob," she muttered, firmly pushing the incident out of her mind, knowing she didn't have time for it. After all, she had a show to help run.


	3. Chapter 3

disclaimer, etc., in part 1

Part Three

He walked into the locker room without knocking, glancing around to find the man he was looking for, then slumped down on the nearest bench. "So... Do you have any crazy person repellent?" CM Punk asked, and Kofi Kingston arched a brow at his friend, shaking his head with a snort.

"Man, my tag team partner is a full grown man that takes advice from his imaginary friend Little Jimmy. If I have any crazy person repellent... Obviously, it's not working," one-half of the tag team champions said, and Punk had to admit that reasoning was sound. After all, even if R-Truth had become a fairly harmless version of crazy... Well, there was definitely something not quite right with the guy. Maybe the Little Jimmy thing was just an elaborate hoax.. And maybe it wasn't. Maybe R-Truth really was a few fries short of a Happy Meal.

"Okay, I see your point. Do you know anyone else that might have any crazy person repellent?" he asked, and Kofi rolled his eyes.

"I'm pretty sure that they don't make that. You might be able to pick up some zombie repellent somewhere, though."

"Now why would I want to repel zombies?" the WWE champion wanted to know, and Kofi shook his head slightly, the man standing up and going to grab a bottle of water.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because they snack on your brains."

"Yeah, well, I'm a little worried that someone else might want to snack on another part of me. Hence the need for the crazy person repellent."

"Snack on another part of you. Okay, man, that can just be taken in a way that is... gross and too much information. Way too much information. I'm guessin' we're talkin' about AJ, right?"

"Has another diva given me creepy eyes lately?"

Kofi shrugged. "I don't know. Have they?"

"No, they haven't. And AJ came up to me tonight. Again. Last week on RAW, last night at Over the Limit... and tonight. Three shows, and three times she came up to me. It's like I have my own miniature stalker or something," he said, and Kofi smirked.

"It could be worse. It could be Hornswoggle."

"Funny. Very much so. See... I thought she was just trying to piss off Daniel Bryan by coming up to me the first time. And I still think that was her original motivation, but after I brushed her off a couple of times... It's like she sees me as a challenge or something."

"So, what you're sayin' is... in this scenario, she's Zack Ryder, and you're Eve Torres."

"I did not say that. I am not a hot-yet-bitchy Latina chick."

"True enough... But you have your very own stalker. Although AJ's probably more crazy than Zack is."

"Zack's not crazy. He wasn't a stalker, either. She used him-"

Kofi snorted. "Dude, he's the one that hounded her on Twitter for a date and kept making his youtube videos about her. Maybe she turned the tables on him in the end, but he's the one that started it." Seeing the look that Punk was giving him, the man shrugged. "Eve's the one that booked the match that Truth and I won the tag team titles in. She said we earned it since we'd already won a non-title match against them. Laurinaitis had no intention of giving us a shot. I'm still not sure she didn't get yelled at for it. She also booked Layla against Beth at Over the Limit, making sure that Beth got a title shot since she'd had to step down from her rematch due to injury. And when Sheamus and Orton wanted to go after each other after Randy's match on RAW a couple of weeks ago, she's the one that gave them a match against each other on SmackDown."

"And your point?"

"Point is... Maybe she's part of the bad guys now, working for Laurinaitis and all. But the matches she's made have been pretty fair. She's not throwing people she doesn't like into handicap matches and stuff like that. But that ain't why you're here. You came here asking for crazy person repellent, which I'm pretty sure hasn't been invented yet. What happened when AJ came up to you tonight?"

"She offered to help me celebrate my win last night. And she gave me crazy eyes when she said it. If she weren't five-foot-nothing and maybe a hundred pounds on a bad day, then I might be a little scared of her. As it is... I'm still a little weirded out that she keeps showing up wherever I am and seems to be fixated on me. Girl's unstable, and pretty screwed up. If she wasn't following me around giving me crazy eyes, then I'd feel sorry for her."

"I kind of feel sorry for her anyway. I'm guessing you turned down her offer to help you celebrate?"

"Yeah, I did, and she didn't like it." Punk shifted uncomfortably. "I kind of lied to her."

"What'd you do?"

"I... uh... I kind of told her I'm seeing someone right now and that my girlfriend wouldn't appreciate it if I went out with her. I thought... Maybe that would make her back off, if she thought I was seeing someone. I mean... After how hard she tried to keep stuff together with Daniel Bryan - though I have no idea why - I figured maybe she'd understand other people trying to keep it together. Even if she is unbalanced at the moment." The WWE champion made a face. "But then she wanted to know who my girlfriend was."

"You didn't."

"Didn't what?"

"Say some random name of one of the divas," Kofi said, then took in the look on Punk's face. He shook his head. "You did, didn't you? Damn it, man. I hope you picked someone capable of taking care of herself... And maybe warned her that a crazy girl may come after her."

"AJ wouldn't..."

"She made Natalya bleed when she got DQ'd against her. She slapped Kaitlyn to the ground not once, but twice. Girl is unstable and could be dangerous. I don't care that Kelly's half a foot taller than her or whatever. She could rip her to shreds if she went off."

"It wasn't Kelly. I just happened to see someone heading down the hallway, and it slipped out. And she can take care of herself. And if AJ wants to keep her job, then... It's highly unlikely that AJ will attack this particular diva," Punk said, and Kofi's eyes widened as he realized exactly who the other man was referring to.

"Eve? You told her you were dating Eve? Okay, well, apparently, AJ and my tag team partner aren't the only crazy people in the company."

"Hey-"

"You want to be on the wrong end of some handicap matches? Because if Eve finds out what you did, fairness be damned. She'll be making you face multiple people at once."

"She's not going to find out. Everything's going to be fine," Punk said.

He only wished he could be as certain as he sounded.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer, etc., in part 1.

Thanks for the reviews so far. :)

Part Four

Eve Torres stood quietly, the woman closing her eyes for a moment, fighting the urge to reach up and rub at her temple. She had a headache brewing, there was no doubt about that, but she wasn't willing to let anyone know about it. Letting anyone know she was in any sort of pain was just a sign of weakness, and she'd vowed a couple of months ago - after having found herself in tears far too often in front of a live audience of thousands and a television audience in the millions - that she was going to try her damnedest not to appear weak again. And aside from a few instances when she hadn't been able to keep expressions of hurt from slipping onto her face, she'd done a fairly decent job of it.

Taking a deep, calming breath, Eve opened her eyes again, the diva straightening her shoulders a bit, reminding herself that everything was fine. Yes, she'd had a bit of a run-in backstage with John Cena. Yes, he'd called her names again, because, it seemed, that was just his way. If a woman wasn't what he expected her to be - if she wasn't happy and sweet and docile and didn't do exactly what he wanted - he was nasty to her. It was something she should have known long ago but, unfortunately, had ended up learning from experience. And now he thought it was just ever-so-lovely to call her names whenever they happened to be anywhere within one another's vicinity. She liked to think that he lashed out at her mostly because he was angry with himself for still being attracted to her. Given the way she'd caught him staring at her from time to time - with something that definitely wasn't hate in his eyes - Eve knew it was a distinct possibility. Of course, the fact that he lashed out at her because he couldn't control his feelings just made him look like even more of a child. Sometimes she wondered why she'd ever wasted time being his friend.

Well, at least that was over now. Because she and John Cena were about as far from being friends as people could get.

Shaking her head slightly, Eve began to make her way down the hall, intending to go and gather her things and head out now that the show was over. Mr. Laurinaitis had offered to let her join him in his limo, but Eve was no fool. She knew better than to take him up on that offer unless David Otunga was going to be there. If David was there, then it was perfectly safe and, while Laurinaitis might look, he wouldn't even think about attempting to touch. And Eve knew all too well that touching was something Laurinaitis wanted to do when it came to her. Of course, John Laurinaitis had also figured out rather quickly that Eve was a highly intelligent woman that wouldn't be afraid to make things very difficult for him if he tried to turn their relationship from a strictly business one into something else. Still, it wouldn't be good to put herself into a position where she'd be alone with him in a secluded place like the backseat of a limo. Refusing the ride was just another way for her to reinforce the fact that their relationship was strictly business... and always would be. When he'd discovered that she was only a part of his administration for business and nothing else, he'd been highly disappointed, of course, having thought that when he'd hired her as his executive administrator he'd be getting her as some sort of a plaything... But she'd handled that as well, reminding him that if he fired her for not involving herself with him than she could easily sue him... Not to mention the fact that everyone would know that she'd managed to get him to hire her without promising anything and that she had given him nothing... Making him no better than any other man that foolishly let himself be led around by his hormones. Making him no better than Zack Ryder of all people.

She was pretty sure that it was that, as much as the threat of a lawsuit, that had kept him from firing her. Because John Laurinaitis? Did not like to be made a fool of. And more than that, he didn't want people to *know* he'd been made a fool of.

"I want to talk to you, you evil little... witch," a voice that Eve knew all too well declared, and the brunette found herself thinking that it seemed that Kelly must still be keeping a swear jar in an effort to stop cursing, because Eve was very aware that the blonde would have preferred to call her a 'bitch' rather than a 'witch'.

Arching a brow, Eve turned to look at the younger diva. Thanks to the fact that she really did have a few inches of height on her, plus she was wearing heels and Kelly was in wrestling boots, the brunette towered over the blonde. "Is there a problem?"

Kelly rubbed at her head, scowling. "You put me in the ring with Beth Phoenix tonight. You're totally out to get me-"

"Just last week you were complaining that you hadn't had a match for weeks, and now that I've given you one, you're complaining again. It really is impossible to please you, isn't it? It was a one-on-one match, completely fair. Both of you had the same amount of time to prepare," Eve countered, interrupting smoothly. "You know, Kelly... If you had won tonight, then you would have been right in the thick of things to earn a shot at Layla's title. Instead of trying to claim that I'm out to get you, you should have been grateful for the opportunity. Especially since you'd been complaining about a lack of matches in the first place."

"I... But..."

"Maybe you should sit down and decide what you really want... To have a match, or not. Because right now, it seems you're whining either way," the brunette declared, spinning on her heel and turning her back on the other woman, well aware of the way that Kelly was glaring at her... Probably wishing for something to say but not being able to come up with a snappy comeback. After all, even Kelly had to realize that Eve had a point. Shaking her head, the Executive Administrator continued on her way down the hall, turning the corner only to find herself face-to-face with yet another person she didn't want to deal with tonight.

CM Punk.

Unable to stop herself, Eve closed her eyes and groaned. "Go ahead."

"Excuse me?" he managed, sounding confused, and Eve opened her eyes to see that he looked as befuddled as he sounded.

"I'm sure you have something clever and rude to say. Some complaint about how I'm doing my job or what you perceive my morals to be or something. Go ahead. Say it."

The WWE champion cleared his throat. "I... wasn't going to say anything, actually." He frowned. "Are you okay?"

Eve let out a huff of breath. "I'm fine. It's just..."

"Have a run-in with someone?"

"Just Cena and Kelly. Cena called me names and Kelly complained that I gave her a match when last week she complained because she didn't have one. I wish she'd make up her mind. And why am I telling you this?"

"Because I'm here?" he offered, then cleared his throat, his gaze going over her shoulder to something or someone else. "Um... See you later. And watch where you're going next time," he said, perhaps adding that last bit because he'd realized that maybe he'd been too civil - after all, she was part of Laurinaitis's regime so he had to hate her on principle - the man stepping around her and heading off down the hallway, Eve turning her head to look watch him, raising her voice a bit to call after him.

"Right back at you," she said, knowing it was just as much on him as on her that they'd almost run into each other, the diva shaking her head as she watched him walk off, then frowning as she realized that someone else was looking at her. Turning her head, she found AJ staring at her for what had to be at least the third time that night - she'd caught AJ glaring after both her conversation with Layla earlier and then after she'd spoken to Christian about a media day he'd be going on the next week. Her frown deepening, Eve stared right back at the younger woman, her hand coming to rest on her hip... AJ finally making a sound like a snarl before turning and stalking off, Eve staring after her for a moment, then turning and heading off, trying to shake the uneasy feeling she had, the woman telling herself determinedly that AJ might be a loon, but that she was a harmless loon.

She hoped.


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks to those that have reviewed so far.

Disclaimer, etc., in part 1.

Part Five

Nothing had happened on SmackDown.

He'd been worried about it, more worried than he'd cared to admit. CM Punk knew that telling AJ Lee that he was dating Eve Torres wasn't exactly his greatest idea ever. It had been an impulse, something he'd announced on the spur of the moment, and he knew it wasn't a good thing to do. Whether he liked her or not, it wasn't fair to Eve... And after he'd nearly literally run into Eve and actually shared a few words with her after RAW had ended the week before, well... When he'd seen AJ standing there, watching them from no more than twenty feet away, it had worried him. After his talk with Kofi, he'd hoped that if he was careful to avoid Eve, then maybe AJ would just let it go, but then he had to go and practically run into the woman. And instead of snapping off some nasty insult at her, he'd actually ended up asking the executive administrator if she was okay. He'd spoken to her without saying anything rude, and AJ had stood there and watched it. She'd probably been too far away to hear their words, but she'd still seen them together. He couldn't help but think that was a bad thing. Because of it, he'd been worried that something might happen on SmackDown, that AJ might do or say something, but she hadn't. Nothing had happened. Well, maybe he'd caught the young diva watching him again, but she hadn't come up to him. And since Eve hadn't been there - she'd apparently had SmackDown off because she was taking a short vacation to visit her parents or something - AJ hadn't been able to go up to her, either. The problem was, he was having more and more trouble convincing himself that AJ *wouldn't* go up to Eve about this whole mess, which meant that he had to find a way to take care of it. Tell AJ he was lying, warn Eve about what he'd done... Something. Because the more he thought about it, the more he became convinced that Kofi was right and that this would end up blowing up in his face somehow.

"Oh, this is going to suck," he muttered to himself, reaching up to jerk a hand through his hair, a frown evident on his face. He'd vaguely entertained the idea of confessing his lie to Eve and telling her he'd said it because he had a crush on her, hoping that saying that would soften her up a bit and make her less likely to exact some sort of revenge on him, but he'd pushed that idea aside, mostly because he figured that if she thought he had a crush on her, she'd just use it against him. That was what she did, right? Zack had practically been obsessed with her, and it was obvious to anyone with eyes that Cena still had a damn crush on her despite it all - and liked to call her names to try and prove that he *didn't* still have feelings for the woman... And she'd tossed both of them aside, hadn't she? Hell, Zack had been so damned obsessed her with she'd been able to mess with his head again even *after* she'd friend-zoned him the first time. Of course, Zack was kind of an idiot sometimes, especially when it came to women, so...

"You complete and total jackass!"

CM Punk was too lost in his own thoughts to even notice that someone had been approaching him, and that was why she managed to get the jump on him, the diva's hand slamming full force into his cheek as she slapped him as hard as she could. He actually took a couple of steps back as his hand went up to his cheek, the man blinking at the woman in front of him.

Eve Torres. A furious, angry, very pissed off Eve Torres.

An Eve Torres that, instead of wearing the sexy business-wear she'd been sporting since becoming the executive administrator, was now wearing her ring gear. In fact, she was wearing the red and gold gear that she'd had for awhile that kind of made him think of Wonder Woman. He wasn't sure when he'd seen her wear it last.

Rubbing at his stinging cheek, he frowned at the diva. "What the hell was that for?"

"You know what that was for!" she shot back at him, the woman stepping closer to him, reaching out and shoving at his chest, doing so hard enough that he found himself taking another couple of steps back. And while he wasn't the type to attack a woman, that didn't mean that he had to just stand there and take it while she slapped and shoved at him.

"Hey, watch yourself," Punk told her, catching her hands when she went to shove at him again... Then swearing when she lashed out and kicked him in the shin instead. "Damn it! Look, Eve-"

"No, you look, you lying bastard! What the hell were you thinking, claiming that we're dating?" she spat out, still glaring at him, and he knew - he just *knew* - that he went a little pale at her words. Oh, yeah. This was bad. AJ had apparently told Eve about what he'd said before he had a chance to do anything about it.

"Eve, I didn't mean-"

"What, it just slipped out?"

"Well, sort of-"

"Oh, so you messed up my life by accident? Great, just great. Because now the little psycho loony is running around telling everyone that we're dating. And she challenged me to a match," the diva declared, apparently realizing that he still had her wrists in his grip, because she jerked them free from his grasp, taking a step back from him, continuing to glare. Punk had to figure that if looks could kill, he'd be a good six feet under by now. Maybe deeper.

"Just tell Laurinaitis that you don't want the match-"

"Yeah, because that would be the thing to do. If, you know, Laurinaitis didn't believe her. I'm in the match, whether I want to be or not. I'm in a match with a psychotic girl that made Natalya bleed not too long ago, and it's all your fault, you jerk! Why me? What, exactly, have I ever done to you?" she demanded, and when it came down to it, well... The only thing he could think of that she'd done to him specifically was give Laurinaitis the idea to force him to take a field sobriety test, and that had ended out working in his favor in the end, so...

"I didn't say it to hurt you, Eve. I just... You came to mind. And I don't know why Laurinaitis won't let you out of the match-"

"Oh, really? Think about it, Punk. John Laurinaitis hates to lose. He hates to be made a fool of. He was already angry when I told him that if he fired me for not giving him what he wanted, then I would sue him for everything he's got. And now? Now he thinks that I not only turned him down, but that I've been running around with you this whole time. And if there's anything worse to John Laurinaitis than losing out on something... It's losing out to you, the one person in this company he hates the most. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a match to get ready for," the diva said, turning on her heel and stalking off, leaving CM Punk standing there alone, simply watching as she walked away, shock evident on the man's face.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer, etc., in part 1. Thanks to those that have reviewed so far.

Part Six

She shook her head, jerking her hands through her hair as she sat there, the diva more than a little angry with herself over her behavior. It was inexcusable to go off like she had... Yes, she was furious with CM Punk for the stunt he'd pulled - and the WWE champion certainly deserved her fury for that lie he'd told and the mess she'd gotten in because of it - but that didn't mean she'd needed to rush up to him and slap him, shove at him, and kick him. And that wasn't even the worst of it. The worst of it was the things she'd said to him. The things she'd admitted... She'd basically told him that the only reason she had her job was because Laurinaitis knew that firing her would lead to her suing him for harassment... Punk now knew that she'd turned Laurinaitis down, that her position was only secure because of the threat of a harassment suit. The only positive thing she could pull from the whole mess of an encounter was the fact that she'd managed to keep from bursting into tears. That was a point in her favor, but not much of one.

"Damn it," she whispered, lowering her head to her hands, then jerking when she felt a hand come down on her shoulder. She'd been too damn preoccupied; she hadn't even heard someone approaching her. Turning her head quickly, she looked at who was standing there, a bit relieved when she saw who it was. She and Layla weren't exactly friends, but at least the other woman didn't hate her as much as most of the rest of the company did.

"Are you all right?" the divas' champion wanted to know, moving around the crate that Eve was seated on and hopping up next to her on it. She frowned as she looked at Eve, taking in the outfit that the younger diva was currently wearing. "Why are you dressed for a match? You haven't wrestled since... Well, in awhile, I know."

"You're right, I haven't... Until tonight. I do have a match tonight," Eve said, then looked over at the other diva. She wasn't sure why she was talking to Layla, other than because she needed to discuss this with someone, and Layla was the one that was there. Layla was the one that had actually approached her and asked if she was okay. "I'm wrestling against AJ."

Layla blinked in surprise. Clearly, she hadn't expected that to be the diva that Eve would be facing that night. Kelly or Alicia or someone like that, sure... But not AJ. "What? Why?"

"Because she challenged me to a match," Eve replied, and the other diva shook her head.

"But that makes no sense," Layla said. "You've never done anything to her. Why in the world would AJ of all people want to challenge you? I could picture maybe Kelly or someone, but... Why AJ?"

Eve couldn't help the half-laugh, half-snort that slipped out at that. Completely unladylike, of course, but what could she do? It just sort of happened. "Caught me by surprise, too," the woman said, then let out a sigh. "From what I understand, she challenged me to a match because I'm apparently dating CM Punk."

"What?" Layla managed, the exclamation sounding something like a squawk, and if not for the situation she found herself in, Eve might have actually laughed outright at the other woman's reaction. As it was, she just shook her head.

"Came as a surprise to me, too," she said, looking over at Layla, then heaving out a sigh. "My only guess for why he lied to her is... To get back at me for something. I don't know what I did to him to make him want to turn that wacko against me, but... He did."

Layla shook her head. "It doesn't make sense. Why he would do that," the woman said, then looked over at Eve. "Shouldn't you be getting ready for your match or something?"

"What?"

"I mean... Since you're dressed to wrestle, I'm guessing that means you're stuck with the match, so you may as well go out there prepared. You're bigger and stronger than AJ, but she's a bit unhinged, so there's that to contend with. I think she's probably pretty fast, too," the diva said, and Eve nodded slightly at that, pushing herself up and off the crate, then started to stretch, knowing Layla was being right. She had a match; she needed to prepare and not just brood over it. It had been awhile since she'd had to go through her pre-match stretching routine, though. The good news was, even if she hadn't wrestled on the shows for awhile, she had been keeping up with things as much as possible on her days off, which meant she wasn't as unprepared as people probably would think. And it wasn't like AJ had spent a lot of time in the ring during the shows lately, either. She'd only had a handful of matches on television in the entire year, and her most recent matches - the ones against Natalya and Kaitlyn - had lasted maybe a minute combined. AJ had gotten disqualified in one of them, and Kaitlyn had never tried to fight back in the other. Well, that wasn't going to happen this time. Because she sure as hell wasn't just going to stand there and not fight back. Of course, there wasn't anything she could do about it if AJ was stupid enough to get herself DQ'd again.

Layla swung her legs back and forth a bit as she sat on the crate, watching as Eve went through her stretching routine. "Now, I've never wrestled against AJ, but my guess is the best way to work this is to try and keep her from knocking you off your feet. You're, like, a lot taller than her, so you've got the advantage if you're both on your feet."

Eve looked up at her. "Are we seriously talking strategy?"

"Well, we could talk about why AJ thinks you're dating Punk, why Punk told her that in the first place... Or maybe why Laurinaitis isn't letting you out of the match... But I'm guessing you don't want to do that."

Eve looked down at the ground. "Not particularly, no."

"Then... Strategy. Use your strength and size against her. She's quick. Try and take her down. Knock her legs out from under her, and she can't run circles around you," the older woman said, then hopped down from the crate, crouching down in front of Eve. "And we both know that AJ hasn't exactly been stable lately."

"Everybody knows that."

"True enough. Which leads me to one last piece of advice. Try not to turn your back on her."


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer, etc., in part 1. Thanks for all the reviews so far.

Part Seven

He jerked a hand through his hair, the man fighting the urge to just haul off and punch the wall or something. This was not what he'd thought would happen when he told AJ what he had, at the time, thought of as a harmless lie. But it was anything but harmless. It had blown up in his face, and now, Eve was going to have to face AJ in a match because of it. And while he wanted to be mad at Eve for coming up and slapping him across the face - not to mention shoving at him and in the end even kicking him - he couldn't actually blame her for her reaction. She hadn't done anything to get herself involved in this mess. He was the one that had gotten her involved... And he hadn't even warned her about it.

Shaking his head, Punk made his way down the hallway, his hands clenched into fists as he fought the urge to hit something - anything - and as he spotted Daniel Bryan making his way down the hallway, it took an awful lot of self-control not to haul off and punch the man just for the fun of it. After all, it wasn't until Daniel had dumped AJ - and said some pretty terrible things to her - that the woman had gone off the deep end. And while AJ was still responsible for her own actions, it couldn't be said that Daniel hadn't given her a nudge towards lunacy.

"Someone doesn't look happy," Bryan said with a smirk, and Punk narrowed his eyes and glared at the other man.

"Because your crazy ex-girlfriend is messing with my life-"

"Better your life than mine, man. She cost me the title at WrestleMania. You can have her."

"You lost your title because you were stupid enough to turn your back on your opponent," Punk shot back. "And on top of that... I don't want AJ. And we both know that the only reason she started paying attention to me is because, for some misguided reason, she wants you back. Don't ask me why, because I sure as hell don't know."

Daniel Bryan smirked. "Seems to me that my miniature problem is more focused on you now than she is me. Which, I have to say, is quite a relief. I'm glad to be rid of her. Of course, your girlfriend probably isn't too happy about things," the other man said, Punk freezing at the final comment, and Daniel's smile widened. "What? You didn't think I'd hear about it? Just so happened that I was walking by when I heard Eve trying to get John Laurinaitis not to make the match. Johnny Ace didn't seem all that happy with your girlfriend."

"She's not my-" CM Punk broke off before he could protest that Eve wasn't his girlfriend, the man feeling another hit of guilt at Daniel's words on the subject. He couldn't help but picture Eve protesting that she had no idea what AJ was talking about, that she wasn't dating him... Only to have Laurinaitis basically call her a liar and toss her in the match with the nutcase anyway.

Daniel smirked. "She's not your girlfriend? Is that what you were going to say? Because I have to admit... That doesn't surprise me. Despite the fact that she hung around with Zack Ryder for awhile, I've got to say I figure Eve for the type to actually have some taste. Maybe. But if she was actually with you... I'd have to rethink that. My opinion of her is dropping."

"Well, considering the fact that one time when she was running SmackDown she basically told you to shut up and get out of her office, my opinion of her is going up," Punk replied, then shook his head, going to shove past Bryan. "I don't have time for this."

"Why not?" Daniel called before he managed to get more than ten feet away from the guy. "Aww... Do you need to go and tell your pretend girlfriend how sorry you are that you got her into this mess? Or are you going to go and congratulate yourself for taking care of two problems at once?"

"What the hell does that mean?"

"You aimed AJ at Eve. AJ now has a focus besides you. And as for Eve... She's going to have her hands too full dealing with AJ to do much to you. Especially since I'm not so sure her job as the executive administrator is all that safe any longer," the man said, and Punk made a face, glad he wasn't looking at Daniel because he didn't want the guy to see his expression. Because he knew Daniel Bryan was right. His lie had seriously messed things up for Eve. And the sad thing was... Of the people involved in Laurinaitis's regime, Eve had been the most fair in terms of making matches so far. She'd made good matches instead of ones based on vengeance. And then there was what she'd said before she'd stalked off from him... That she'd turned Laurinaitis down, which meant that the man was after her. That the man was persistent enough that Eve had threatened to sue him over it. She'd let that much slip in her anger, and he hated that he might have caused her more problems.

"If you're trying to piss me off just to get yourself another match against me and maybe another shot at the WWE title in the process... Give it up. I have more important things to worry about than some jackass like you," Punk finally said, unwilling to let Daniel know that his words had affected him and vaguely wondering when, exactly, the guy he'd once been friends with had become such a total jerk... The wrestler shaking his head as if to clear it of the thought as he made his way down the hallway. A large part of him wanted to try and track Eve down and apologize to her, but he didn't think she'd be very receptive to listening to him at the moment. On top of that, if AJ saw him with Eve again, it might just make her even crazier and make things worse for Eve. He also knew better than to try to go to Laurinaitis and admit that he'd been lying when he'd said he was dating Eve. Odds were, the General Manager wouldn't believe him any more than he believed Eve. Hell, he'd probably think that Punk was lying to try to protect her. And if he couldn't go to Eve or to the GM, he figured there was only one other place to go.

Kofi Kingston looked up as barged into his locker room without bothering to knock. "Yeah?" he asked, and Punk heaved out a sigh.

"I fucked up. Big time." the WWE champion snorted, and Kofi gave him a knowing look.

"Tell me something I don't know."


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer, etc., in part 1. Thanks for the reviews so far.

Part Eight

"Do you want me to walk out there with you?"

Eve jerked as she looked back at Layla, the woman having almost forgotten that the divas' champion was still there with her. The older diva had fallen silent for awhile, just watching as Eve continued her stretching routine, and the executive administrator had been so lost in her own thoughts that she more or less forgotten about the other woman's presence. Blinking, she looked up at where Layla was still seated on one of the crates. "What?"

"I could walk out there with you. Keep my eye on the crazy, make sure she didn't do anything too nutty."

Eve rose to her feet, the woman having finished her stretching routine. She knew her match was soon, which meant she had to get going and head toward the curtain area. "I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"Just why not?"

"For the same reason I told you last week. You don't want to be seen talking to me. Not if you want the other divas to let you into their inner circle."

"Maybe I've decided I don't want to be in their inner circle. Maybe I like you better," Layla replied, and Eve shook her head slightly.

"Maybe you think that now-"

"Look, I wouldn't offer to walk out with you if I didn't mean it... Not to mention if I didn't understand the consequences or whatever. I've gone most of my career without being friends with people like Kelly. Okay, yes, I did that whole Extreme Expose thing with her when I first came up to the main roster, but really... She was intent on making sure everything was about her, and she was the worst dancer of the three of us! She's as self-centered and egotistical as any of the rest of the divas are, maybe moreso... She just gets away with it because she's a perky blonde beach bunny." Layla rolled her eyes as she spoke. Eve arched a brow at her.

"Didn't you team up with her not so long ago?"

"Admittedly, I did, but that was mostly because I was assigned to. And seriously... The woman is willing to forgive and forget anything as long as she thinks it will get her a new lackey or something. She always wants to be the one that focus is on. I suppose you know that well enough," Layla stated, shaking her head. "You know, I really believe that the reason she dislikes you so much now isn't so much because of anything that you've supposedly done. It's because people started talking about you instead of her. You were the focus, and she didn't like that."

"She spent her life being a spoiled little princess. That's going back to when she was a kid, too. She always got everything she wanted, and she's still the pampered princess, even now. She just doesn't understand it when people don't fall all over themselves to give her what she wants," Eve replied. "That became more and more obvious the more I spent time with her. She never seemed to understand why I was upset that I'd never gotten a rematch after Brie Bella cheated me out of the divas' title last year. Everything was fine to her because she'd managed to become the champion and take it from Brie. The fact that I was never given the rematch that actually was in my contract didn't matter."

"Of course it didn't. It didn't affect her," Layla said, shaking her head. The two women had started walking down the hallway, the divas' champion looking completely unconcerned about the fact that she was likely going to be seen spending time and being friendly with the executive administrator, a woman that quite a few people in the back professed to hate. Of course, considering the way Layla had seen some of the men practically drooling over Eve in her little business suits and glasses, well... 'Hate' seemed to be a bit of a strong word for how they felt about her. 'Reluctantly lusted after' seemed more appropriate. Frowning, the diva looked over at Eve. "You know... What if... What if CM Punk told AJ that he was dating you because... he's interested in you?"

Eve blinked at that. "First of all, I sincerely doubt that I would be CM Punk's type. And second... If he had any interest in me, why would he sic some psycho like AJ on me? He had to know that telling AJ something like that was a bad idea."

"Well... Maybe he's mad that he's interested in you," Layla said, lifting a hand when Eve opened her mouth to speak. "No, hear me out. Please. I've seen the way some of the guys look at you. They bloody well can't take their eyes off of you sometimes. They don't want to think you're hot, but they do. Take John Cena, for instance."

"No, thank you."

"I figured you would say that. But he practically stares at you sometimes when he knows you're not looking. And then he turns around and says nasty things about you. Not because of you, necessarily, but because he's mad that he's attracted to you. So he takes it out on you," Layla stated and the idea was pretty much exactly what Eve thought on the subject of John Cena. He was nasty to her not because of anything she'd done to him recently - because she'd more or less stayed out of his way since February - but because he was still attracted to her and it pissed him off.

"I get that. It totally explains why John Cena is such a jerk, but-"

"But nothing. I'm saying that maybe it's the same thing for CM Punk. He's attracted, but he doesn't want to be."

"So he's taking it out on me by siccing a lunatic on me. What a prize. Asshole," Eve muttered, shaking her head, and Layla nodded.

"Pretty much. Men always like to blame the women when they can't control their hormones." The older diva rolled her eyes, then glanced over at Eve, the two women speaking more quietly now as they approached the curtain area. A stage hand signaled to Eve, letting her know that her match was next. Layla eyed Eve, taking in the expression on her face. "Good. You're angry."

"Of course I am. Because if you're right, and CM Punk pulled this stunt to punish me because he finds me physically attractive and is pissed off about it, then he's just a total asshole," the woman said then frowned as she thought about Punk's response to finding out that AJ had demanded a match against her. He'd looked surprised and not exactly thrilled, and the look on his face after her outburst about the reason her job was secure... "I'm not sure if that's-"

"No. No second thoughts. Hold onto the anger. You can be logical later. Right now, be angry. Be furious. And go out there and win your match," Layla instructed, and Eve nodded her head slightly, squaring her shoulders before heading over to steps that led to the stage, the woman taking a deep breath as she stood there, waiting for her music to start to play.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer, etc., in part 1. Thanks for the reviews so far.

Part Nine

Eve stepped out onto the stage, the woman all too aware that everyone out there knew the reason AJ Lee had challenged her to this match. AJ, after all, hadn't exactly made a secret of it, the diva having been interviewed earlier in the night, the woman ranting about how Eve didn't deserve CM Punk and how she was going to 'end it once and for all'. Apparently, the girl was nuts enough that she thought that Punk would dump Eve if AJ beat her. Of course, Eve and CM Punk weren't even actually dating in the first place...

Shaking her head slightly, Eve skipped the pose she usually did at the top of the stage, instead glaring at the young diva in the ring. The complete and total nutcase that she now had to face in a match thanks to the fact that CM Punk was a giant liar. Not only was he was liar, but he was a coward, too, the man having been nowhere near his own locker room tonight when Matt Striker had gone there to try and interview him. He'd probably known that someone would seek him out and had done his best to avoid the questions he knew people had to be asking. To avoid telling the truth.

The asshole.

Keeping her eyes on AJ - she knew Layla's advice not to turn her back on the younger diva was a good recommendation - Eve slowly entered the ring, vaguely wondering if AJ would turn those hate-filled eyes on CM Punk if she ever realized that the man had lied to her to get her off his back.

"You don't deserve him," AJ spat out at her, exactly what the diva had said the week before, only this time, Eve actually knew the lie that had been told, so she knew what AJ was talking about.

The older diva arched a brow, lifting her chin as she looked down her nose at the petite woman. "And you think that if I were out of the way, you would have a chance? You think he's actually interested in you? Dream on, little girl," Eve told her, deciding that she might as well play this whole thing up if she had no chance of getting out the match anyway, and her words had the desired effect as AJ made a lunge for her, the younger diva letting loose with a shriek that would have made Melina jealous had the woman still been with the company. Unfortunately for AJ, she'd let her anger get the best of her, because Eve was easily able to side-step the angry lunge, turning around and planting a drop-kick in the younger woman's back as AJ tried to stumble to a stop. Instead, her momentum continued to draw her forward, AJ falling against the ropes, and Eve sent another kick AJ's way - this one hitting her behind the knee and knocking her legs out from under her - just as she heard the sound of the bell that meant the referee had gone ahead and started the match. Quickly, Eve sent a kick at the back of AJ's other knee, then stepped back, knowing that she had to let the girl get out of the ropes if she didn't want to get disqualified. And while losing by DQ would get her out of this nice and fast, Eve was concerned that, if that happened, AJ would just challenge her again and gloat that she'd won the first match... Even if it was just by a disqualification.

Limping due to the kicks at her legs, AJ made it back to her feet, though she wasn't going to be able to move nearly so quickly, at least for the moment. Eve and Layla had discussed AJ's speed and, right this second, she didn't have it. Of course, that didn't change the fact that the girl was crazy, pissed off, and convinced that she was in the right in this whole thing.

Eve tried to side-step as AJ lunged at her again, but the younger diva was prepared for it this time, grabbing a fistful of Eve's long hair on her way past and dragging the taller woman down with her. Almost instantly, AJ was on top of her and leveling punches at her, screaming in her face, and Eve couldn't help the gasp that forced its way out when AJ tried to get her hands around the older diva's throat. The nut-job was actually trying to *choke* her. Shoving away the shock she felt at the realization, Eve lashed out with an elbow, hitting AJ first in the jaw, then in the nose with the second swing. As AJ grabbed at her face, Eve lashed out, shoving the younger diva off of her, then getting to her feet, leveling a kick at the younger woman's head, satisfied when she heard the solid hit and AJ flopped to the mat. Quickly, she went for the pin, making sure to put as much weight on the smaller woman as possible, but AJ got her shoulder up at the last second, the diva still clutching at her face as she did so.

"Damn it," Eve muttered, rising to her feet, watching and waiting as AJ started to struggle to hers, waiting until the woman was nearly back to a vertical state before she took her down with a clothesline to the back of the head. Leaning down to yank her up again, Eve found herself getting a kick to the face that caused her to stumble, the older woman getting herself to the ropes to avoid any other wild kicks from the other diva. She rubbed at her jaw as she waited for the other girl to get to her feet again, making her way over to the corner, then jerking out of the way when AJ ran at her, Eve grabbing at her and helping her momentum as AJ slammed into the ringpost, the older diva then reaching out and hurriedly rolling AJ up, getting every last ounce of weight on the other diva that she could in order to keep AJ's shoulders down-

And it worked.

The referee counted to three, the match was over, and Eve couldn't stop the sigh of relief that had come from her lips as the referee called for the bell. She'd known going into it that AJ was actually a pretty good wrestler, but the younger woman had been too angry to do any actual wrestling, instead going for punches and a choke-out, and Eve had managed to win thanks to some kicks, a couple of well-placed elbows, and an assist by the ringpost. And now it was over.

Thank goodness.

Straightening up quickly, Eve allowed the referee to lift her hand in victory, the diva pulling away after only a couple of seconds, wanting to get back to the back and as far away from AJ as she possibly could. Pushing her hair back from her face, Eve made her way to the ropes, slipping through them, then hopping down, and it was as she took her first steps toward the ramp that Eve realized her mistake. The pain exploded in her ribs, Eve falling forward as she remembered Layla's advice... Advice she'd taken when getting in the ring, but not when getting out. Because once the match was over, she'd taken her eyes off of AJ, thinking it was over. But it wasn't over.

And AJ had a weapon.


	10. Chapter 10

disclaimer, etc., in part 1. Thanks to those that have reviewed so far. :)

Part Ten

This was all his fault.

He froze for a moment, his gaze on the screen, shock evident on his face as he stood there, watching in stunned disbelief as AJ hit Eve in the ribs with some kind of steel pipe that she'd grabbed from beneath the ring. Eve went down to her knees immediately, the woman clutching at her ribs, and it was only because she shifted at the last moment that AJ's second blow hit Eve in the shoulder and not the head.

"Oh, God," CM Punk managed, the man taking off at full speed, running out of the locker room he'd taken refuge in earlier, making his way through the halls toward the curtain area and the ring, knowing he wouldn't be fast enough to be any help, but having to go out there anyway. He nearly knocked over one of the divas - he didn't stop to see who, just yelling back an apology - as he ran, then took the stairs two and three at a time as he headed for the stage, then down the ramp. He wasn't the first one out there, he could see that immediately, referees had beat him there, two of them holding a screaming and struggling AJ back. Another referee was at Eve's side, trying to check on the injured diva, but he wasn't alone. Layla, the current divas' champion, was there as well, though Punk had no idea what the British diva was doing out there. As best he knew, she and Eve weren't exactly friends. Hell, as best he knew, Eve didn't really have any friends. And that thought just made him feel worse. His lie had sent AJ right at someone that didn't have anyone to watch her back.

"Damn it," the wrestler muttered, falling to his knees beside Eve, unable to meet Layla's eyes as the woman looked at him with what could only be described as disgust.

"What the bloody hell are you doing out here?" the divas' champ demanded to know. "Haven't you already caused enough damage?"

"I didn't mean for this to happen!" Punk snapped back, reaching out to help as Eve tried to force herself into a sitting position... His gut twisted when he saw the tears of pain in the diva's eyes. She was hurt, that much was obvious. The question was how badly was she hurt. Punk turned to look at the referee that was with them. "Where the hell are the paramedics?"

Chad Patton shook his head. "I don't know. They should be out here by now," the man said, and Punk glanced back over his shoulder, fully expecting to see the medics rushing their way, but there was nothing. No flurry of activity as people emerged from under the stage area or came down the ramp. Nothing. The WWE champion's hands clenched into fists as a horrible thought came to him. Laurinaitis had put Eve in this match because he'd believed that the diva was dating him. He'd believed the lie that Punk had told AJ. What if the man was sick enough, vengeful enough, that he wouldn't allow the medical personnel out to look after the injured diva? It was a horrible thought, but then again, John Laurinaitis was a horrible person.

"We have to get her backstage. She needs help," Punk stated, sending a glance toward the ramp, where the other referees were currently dragging AJ toward the back. For a girl that probably weighed a hundred pounds on a bad day, she sure could put up a fight when she was crazed. The refs definitely had their hands full. At least she no longer had a weapon.

Shaking his head, sending AJ an angry glare, Punk heaved out a sigh, then turned his attention back to Eve, reaching for the diva... Only to have her jerk away, then whimper in pain as the motion jarred her shoulder and ribs.

"Leave her be," Layla spat at him, glaring again, and Punk couldn't help but wonder again why it was that the woman was out there. Chad was out there because he was a referee and it was sort of the ref's job to get things under control. Punk was out there because this was his own damn fault; his lie had set this whole thing in motion, whether he had meant for it to happen or not... But Layla? He had no clue why she was out there.

Meeting the woman's eyes, fighting not to flinch at the anger and blame in them, he shook his head. "I'm not leaving her alone, and I'm not leaving until I'm sure she's getting help." He leaned a little closer. "The medics aren't coming. Or haven't you figured that out yet? They've had plenty of time, Layla."

"They're coming. They have to be," the woman began, then shook her head, her expression one of disbelief as she realized what CM Punk had already figured... As she realized why Punk thought the medics weren't coming. "He couldn't... he wouldn't."

"Yes, he would," Punk tossed back, then reached for Eve again, swearing softly when she tried to flinch away from him, catching her when the motion caused her to lose her precarious balance. The only reason she'd been able to sit up in the first place was because she was propped up against the ring steps.

"Leave me alone!" Eve told him, her voice less forceful than it usually would be because of the pain and tears he could hear in it. There was a bit of a breathless quality as well, probably due to the injured ribs she had to have. She probably couldn't take a deep breath.

"Haven't you done enough?" Layla asked him. "I'll get her to the back-"

"I doubt you can carry her, and that's what she needs," Punk stated, reaching out and catching Eve's chin in his hand, forcing her to look up at him, very conscious of the fact that she was in pain and doing his best not to cause her any more. "I know you hate me. But we need to get you out of here. You need to get to a hospital. The medics aren't coming. Layla can't carry you back there, and I'll be damned if I pass you off to a referee. I'm taking you back there, and I'm making sure that you get the medical attention that we both know you need. Just let me help you."

"Why? To assuage your guilt?" Eve managed, and Punk had to be a little impressed by the fact that Eve could still manage to pull out a word like 'assuage' when she was so clearly in so much pain. He shook his head.

"Be quiet and let me help you," he told her, reaching out to carefully start lifting her up, wincing when he heard the diva's softly spoken words.

"This is all your fault," Eve almost whispered, and the WWE champion sighed as he stood, holding the woman in his arms.

"I know."


	11. Chapter 11

Thanks to those that have reviewed the previous parts; I really appreciate it. Hope you continue to enjoy. :) Disclaimer, etc., are in part 1.

Part Eleven

He made his way to the back with Eve in his arms, CM Punk fully aware that the only reason the diva was allowing the contact was because it was the fastest way to get her to the back and because if she struggled, she would just get hurt worse. He was also fully aware that the fact that he'd run out there to help her had just reinforced the lie that he'd told, the lie that AJ had made all too public, and that most of the people watching in the back and in the crowd and even on television probably thought that the lie was the truth and that he and Eve were really together. Even those that had noticed the diva's none-too-favorable reaction to him probably thought she was just mad at him because AJ had challenged her because of their relationship... When in reality she was mad at him because the crazy diva had challenged her because he'd *lied* about having a relationship with her.

"If he won't allow the medics to look at her, what are we going to do?" Layla snapped out, not having to clarify who she meant when she said 'he'; they all knew she meant their bastard of a General Manager.

"Take her to the hospital. It's all we can do."

"I'm not going anywhere with you," Eve protested, shifting a bit in his arms, and CM Punk had the distinct feeling that the woman would have started struggling in earnest had she not jarred her ribs at the motion, her breath coming out in a gasp.

"Layla can come with us. But we've got to get you to a doctor," Punk told her, his tone not really leaving any room for argument. Unfortunately, neither was another voice that spoke up at that moment.

"You aren't going anywhere, Punk. Because you have a match tonight," the easily recognizable voice of John Laurinaitis declared, and if he hadn't had an injured Eve in his arms, CM Punk probably would have lunged at the General Manager of RAW and SmackDown, consequences be damned. He'd despised Laurinaitis before this, thought the guy was an ass and a complete tool, but after he'd shoved Eve in this match and then apparently kept the medics from going out after AJ had attacked the other woman with a steel pipe... Oh, yeah. The guy had reached an all new low tonight.

"Fuck my match."

"You leave, then I'm stripping you of the title," Laurinaitis responded, his gaze going from Punk to Eve. "Obviously, you were lying to me earlier tonight, Ms. Torres. Because if you were telling the truth, then CM Punk wouldn't have rushed to your aid-"

"And maybe I went out there because AJ went completely nuts on Eve and she didn't deserve it, you sanctimonious son of a bitch," Punk shot back, then looked over at Layla. "Come on. We're wasting time."

"You're not going anywhere, Punk."

"Then I'll take her," Kofi Kingston spoke up as he approached, the man looking over at his friend. Kofi had been cleaning up from his own match when AJ had attacked Eve, which was likely the only reason he hadn't gone out there with Punk as well. The man looked over at Layla. "You're welcome to come, too."

"I'll go get my things. Eve's, too," Layla said, and Kofi nodded.

"We'll meet you in the parking garage," Kofi told her, watching as the woman left, the referee going with her, likely to help her carry the bags that belonged to her and Eve. Once she was out of sight, he turned his attention to Punk. The WWE champion could see the censure in his friend's eyes, and he knew that he'd probably be getting another earful about thinking about the consequences of his actions before the night was over. It didn't matter. He deserved it. But Kofi didn't say anything about that to him now. "I rode with R-Truth tonight. If I take Eve and Layla now, he'll need a ride back to the hotel after the show."

"I'll take him," Punk replied, and they all turned to glare when Laurinaitis spoke again.

"And who gave you permission to leave, Mr. Kingston?"

"I did," another voice spoke up, one that had the General Manager's eyes widening in shock. Quickly, the man spun around.

"Triple... Triple H. I wasn't aware you were here tonight."

"Obviously. Because if you'd known I was here, you wouldn't have refused to allow the medics to check on an injured competitor. I'm assuming you were planning to blame them for not going out there or something. Maybe say you told Teddy Long to send them, but he was just too incompetent to get the message out?" the acting COO of the WWE said, anger clear in his voice. His gaze moved over to Punk, who still held Eve in his arms. "Get her out of here. The nearest hospital is only a few blocks up, and I'll have somebody call ahead."

"He has a match tonight."

"That doesn't mean he can't carry her to Kofi's car. Kofi can take it from there. I assume Layla is going, too?"

"She's meeting us at the parking garage," Kofi said, and Triple H nodded.

"Good. Then go," he said, then turned to the General Manager. "And me and you? We're going to have a talk about denying talent the medical treatment they need. Not to mention a few other things." With that, Triple H began walking down the hall, gesturing for Laurinaitis to follow him, which the older man did, a resentful look on his face.

Shaking his head, Kofi turned to Punk, though his eyes were more on the woman in the champion's arms than they were on his friend. "Come on. We gotta get out of here," he said, and Punk nodded, following after the man, all too aware of the diva that was too still in his arms. She held herself stiffly, refusing to really let herself fall against him, and he knew she didn't like the fact that he was carrying her. Well, tough. It was the fastest way to get her where they were going and since this was all his fault anyway, then he was going to be the one to carry her.

They reached the parking garage quickly, Punk and Kofi ignoring the looks they were receiving from their coworkers as they walked. Eve stared straight ahead, seemingly not paying attention to anyone or anything. Once they reached the car, Kofi unlocked it quickly, Punk settling Eve in the backseat, the diva refusing to even look at him as he did so, the man then stepping back.

"You'll keep me updated, right?"

"Of course. Triple H looked pissed, didn't he?"

"Well, Laurinaitis stepped over the line tonight with Eve. Not letting the medics out there. Opened the company up to one hell of a lawsuit, denying treatment to a competitor like he did. There will be repercussions. Or there should be," Punk said, and Kofi looked over at his friend, noting that the WWE champion hadn't taken his eyes off of the woman huddled in the backseat of the car the entire time he'd spoken. Kofi arched a brow as he took in the look on his friend's face.

"Oh, yeah. There's gonna be all kinds of repercussions from tonight."


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer, etc., in part 1. Thanks to those that are continuing to read and review. :)

Part Twelve

She paced the locker room they'd forced her into, moving around like a caged animal. She'd tossed half the chairs across the room when she'd been shoved into it, then kicked the rest of them over, not noticing the pain when the metal hit her shins and banged into her knees. Her knuckles were bruised from hitting her fists against the wall, and her fingers were now twisting at her hair as she moved. They'd brought her bag to her and, at the moment, her clothes were tossed all around, one of her shoes actually in the sink from when she'd thrown everything in a tantrum.

AJ jerked around at the sound of the door opening, the diva rising up on her toes as she looked to see who it was, her expression going from hopeful to sullen when she saw that it wasn't who she hoped it would be. There was no tall man with tattoos stepping into the locker room that the referees had put her into - that Triple H had told her she'd damn well better stay in until the end of the show. No, instead it was a man that was several inches shorter than CM Punk, his hair lighter, no tattoos to be seen.

"What are you doing in here?" AJ asked, her voice dull as she looked at her smirking ex-boyfriend. He shook his head as he looked at her.

"Can't I come to congratulate you on the masterful job you did in the ring tonight?" Daniel asked her, stepping closer to her. AJ crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him.

"I lost."

"Maybe you did. But you certainly made a statement. No one will want to cross you now. I mean, you saw what happened... CM Punk came rushing out to save his lady love. A little too late, of course," he mused, ignoring the way AJ's eyes flashed angrily at the way he referred to Eve.

"She is not his lady love," the diva hissed, and Daniel arched a brow at her.

"Oh, really? Did you miss it, then? The way he ran out to her side... the concern on his face. The way he lifted her in his arms and carried her out of there. Did you miss it, AJ? Were you too insane with anger to notice? I'm sure they'll show a replay of it. It was quite a sight to see. He was so angry at John Laurinaitis for not letting the medics go out there to help Eve. He even wanted to forget about his match tonight, only staying because he had to. He would have left for her. Just rushed her off to the hospital," Daniel told her. "Like the good boyfriend that he is."

"She doesn't deserve him," AJ bit out, her hands jerking through her hair, tugging on the strands, and Daniel just stood there and smirked at her. "She doesn't. Eve doesn't deserve Punk. She doesn't, she doesn't, she doesn't!"

"And what? You think *you* do? You think you deserve CM Punk?"

"I would help him. I would be good for him. I would do anything for him-"

"Like cost him the WWE championship?" Daniel interrupted. "Like you cost me the World Heavyweight title at WrestleMania? Would you help him like that?"

"That was an accident! I only wanted to help you. I didn't mean for you to lose the championship. And I would help him. I wouldn't hurt him. Never. I would be good for him."

"Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe he already thinks that Eve is good for him. After all, she is the one that he's chosen."

"Because he didn't know that he could have me!" AJ declared, her eyes more than a little wild as she looked at him. "*I* am better for him than she could ever be!"

"Really? You really believe that? AJ, honey, the best thing that I ever did was rid myself of you. I wouldn't wish you on any guy," he said, his head snapping back when she hauled off and slapped him... Daniel just smirking at her as he rubbed at his jaw. "Temper, temper."

"I can make him want me," AJ told him. "He can be mine. She's just in the way right now. Blinding him. If she was gone, then he would see me. And I made her be gone tonight. I hurt her-"

"And just made him run all the faster toward her. Did you see him run down the ramp? Or were you too busy trying to fight off the referees that were holding you back? He ran to her. He carried her. And when he looked at you, AJ..." Daniel shook his head. "He didn't looked happy with you, my dear."

"He just doesn't understand. I'll make him see."

"Like you made me see? Like you chased after me pathetically for weeks on end after I dumped your sorry little ass?" he questioned, watching as AJ's hands clenched into fists. She didn't raise a hand to him this time, though, instead glaring viciously at him. He could practically hear her grinding her teeth. He smiled at her again. "What? Don't have anything to say?"

"He's different than you. He'll appreciate the things I do for him. Just you wait and see."

"Oh, really? Like he appreciated what you did for him tonight? Putting his girlfriend in the hospital? He didn't look happy. You just looked like a sore loser. A pathetic, vindictive, crazy, sore loser. Because from what I saw tonight? You didn't win like you said you were going to. Eve pinned you. One, two, three. She made you look like a fool. Kicking you around, side-stepping you. Rolling you up. She won, you lost. In more ways than one. She got the pin and the victory, but she's got CM Punk, too. Because he's not by your side. And maybe he's not by her side right this moment, either, but he wants to be. Oh, AJ, he wants so badly to be with her right now, and if it weren't for Laurinaitis forcing him to stay here, then he would be with Eve right now. Holding her hand on the way to the hospital... Kissing it better. Maybe he'll save the 'kissing it better' part for later tonight," Daniel said, laughing when AJ lunged at him with a scream. He side-stepped her easily, catching her before she could stumble past and holding her away from him. He shook his head at her. "Really, AJ, you should try and learn to control that temper," he told her, then lightly shoved her away and headed for the door, leaving the locker room... But easily able to hear the sounds of things being thrown around as AJ resumed her tantrum once more, the man smiling in satisfaction as he shook his head and walked away.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer in part 1. Thanks to all that have read and reviewed so far.

Part Thirteen

He sat quietly in his locker room, the title belt leaning up against the back of his locker, the man staring at it without really seeing it. He was leaned forward slightly, his elbows on his thighs, his hands clasped together, his chin resting on his hands, the man unable to stop replaying what had happened tonight over and over again in his mind. Eve coming up to him, completely furious, slapping him across the face and yelling at him for the lie he'd told. Eve going down to the ring for her match, ignoring the taunts that the fans shouted her way, the woman actually managing to win her match against the more than slightly unbalanced AJ Lee. AJ Lee attacking her after the match, hitting her with a steel pipe. John Laurinaitis not allowing the medics to come out, not allowing him to take Eve to the hospital... Triple H showing up and making sure that Kofi and Layla were allowed to leave, that they were allowed to take Eve and make sure that she was okay.

"Please let her be okay," he muttered to himself, knowing that was the most important thing. He didn't care if Eve hated him, he didn't care if she tried to scratch his damned eyes out and made his life miserable from this point on. He just needed her to be okay. For AJ's attack not to have done any real damage.

"You want to tell me what the hell is going on here?"

CM Punk jerked violently at the sound of the voice, so lost in his own thoughts that he hadn't heard the sound of the door opening. If someone had wanted to ambush him, they would have been able to do so easily. But the man in the doorway didn't seem to have any violent intent, at least not towards him. Not at the moment anyway.

"I'm just sitting here," the WWE champion said, and Triple H rolled his eyes, stepping further into the room, closing the door behind him.

"You know that wasn't what I was getting at. I want to know what in the hell happened tonight. I came here expecting a normal show. I arrive twenty minutes late only to see AJ giving a ranting interview and to discover that she's apparently wrestling against Eve in a match tonight. That she challenged Eve because she believes that Eve is your girlfriend... And that Laurinaitis apparently found whatever she said so compelling that he believed it and put Eve in the match. So what the hell is going on here?"

"I messed up. Big time," Punk muttered, going back to staring at the title that sat in his locker.

"I get that. But I can't help but wonder what the mess up was. Did AJ see you with Eve, assume the worst? Or was she right? Because I saw the way you ran out there tonight, and I have to say I was a little surprised by it. But you actually seemed concerned about Eve-"

"Of course I was concerned!" Punk exploded, the man rising to his feet, turning to glare at the acting COO of the WWE. "This was my fault! I'm the one that pointed AJ at Eve! I didn't mean for this to happen; I never meant for anyone to get hurt and now... Damn it!" he finished, kicking at one of the benches in the room, not managing to do much of anything since the bench was attached to the floor.

Triple H eyed the man. "What do you mean... you pointed AJ at Eve? Did you actually... Did you tell her that you and Eve are dating? And seriously... Is it true? Are you and Eve actually together?" the man wanted to know, and Punk rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, because I look like the kind of the guy that Eve Torres would go for," he muttered, and Triple H shrugged.

"Well, she did let Zack Ryder hang around her for awhile, and while you're kind of an asshole, Ryder's way more of a douchebag than you are," the Game stated and, while at any other time Punk might get annoyed with being called an asshole, he let it go for the moment, instead heaving out a sigh and looking at the older man.

"I lied. AJ kept coming up to me, and she invited me out, and I thought she might give up on me if she thought there was someone else, and... I told her I was dating Eve. I thought that, of all the divas, Eve would be the one that AJ was least likely to go after. She's in a position of power, and I thought... I screwed up. I know I did. And then AJ saw me talking to Eve last week at RAW - just for a second when we basically ran into each other - and the look on her face... I was trying to figure out a way to fix it, a way to tell Eve or make sure nothing happened and then..." He shook his head, heaving out a sigh. "It was too late. AJ had already made the challenge, and Laurinaitis believed her when she told him what I'd said. I thought about going to Laurinaitis myself, try to explain, but... Do you really think he would have believed me?"

"No. He'd have thought that you were lying now to him, that you were telling him you and Eve weren't together to try and protect her. And even if he did think you might be telling the truth... Even if he did believe you, he would have kept the match in place, just to try and make you feel guilty. Make sure that you knew Eve was in the match because of your lie."

"She *was* in the match because of my lie. AJ challenged her because I lied and said that Eve and I were together. And Laurinaitis has it in for Eve now because he believed it... And I made it worse by going out there. Just proved the whole thing, right? But damn it, I couldn't stay in the back. She fucking hit her with a steel pipe-"

"I know she did. If Eve hadn't moved as fast as she had, she'd have been hit in the head. And it would have been worse if the refs hadn't gotten out there," Triple H said, then shot a look at Punk. "I can't do much to Laurinaitis, not without board approval. I know they aren't going to fire him, at least not now. Not without having someone in mind to replace the bastard. Tonight's attack will probably keep Eve from being medically cleared for at least a couple of weeks. But he's going to be gunning for her after this. For both of you. The man can't stand you, and if he thinks you and Eve are together..."

"I know. He'll make life miserable for her. And it's up to me to find a way to stop him."


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer, etc., in part 1. Thanks to those that have reviewed/favorited/followed this one so far. :)

Part Fourteen

Layla sat on the end of the chair in the waiting room, the diva restlessly tapping her foot against the tile floor, her hands resting against her thighs. After taking another glance at the clock, her gaze moved over to the man that sat next to her. Kofi Kingston. She knew he was friends with CM Punk - one of the people she blamed for this turn of events - but she had also seen the look in Kofi's eyes before they'd left the arena. The look that he'd given his friend. Whatever was going on with this whole thing, Layla was pretty sure that Kofi didn't approve of Punk's lie about dating Eve. He'd also been nice about this whole thing, taking them to the hospital and even carrying Eve inside once they got there.

But that didn't mean she entirely trusted him. At least not yet. Because no matter how nice he'd been tonight, he was still friends with CM Punk and, at the moment, Layla definitely considered that to be a mark against him.

"How did you get caught up in this?" Kofi asked suddenly, the man speaking for the first time since Eve had been taken to the back... Which really hadn't been that long ago. While Eve had been hit with a steel pipe, she wasn't showing signs of any sort of major injury, so she wasn't exactly considered a priority in the hospital's emergency room... Not when victims of a four-car accident had been brought in not so long ago.

She looked over at the man. "What do you mean?"

"I mean... I didn't really know you and Eve were friends. I mean, I'm glad she has someone, but... I just didn't know," he said, flicking a look over her way, and the divas' champion sighed.

"I... We really just started talking recently. I've realized that I like her better than I do the other girls in the locker room. Especially Kelly. That girl irritates me. I talked to Eve a bit last week, and then this week I found out that she'd been challenged to that match, so I sought her out." The woman paused, a frown on her face. "Both times, she warned me away."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean... She said it wouldn't be good for my reputation to be seen with her. Or something of the sort. Basically telling me that the other girls wouldn't like me if they knew I spent time with her," the woman said. "I've decided that I'd rather spend time with her and to hell with all of the others. I was never really friends with any of them anyway." Layla's frown deepened. "I offered to walk out with her tonight. Because of AJ being so looney. She turned me down."

"Did she say why?"

"Well, she went on again about me not wanting to be seen with her and all of that. I told her I liked her better. I should have gone out there. I know she wanted to handle things herself-"

"And technically, she did. She won that match fair and square, from what I could gather," Kofi said, then glanced over at her. "I didn't actually see it. That's why I... I would have gone out there, too."

"It was handled without you. I was there, and two more referees came out there with me. The extra refs got AJ to the back, and that left me and Chad Patton to look out for Eve," Layla said, referring to the man that had been the referee for the match between Eve and AJ... The referee that had ended up helping Layla carry her and Eve's things to the parking garage to meet up with Kofi at his rental car.

"And Punk went out there, too," Kofi said quietly, and Layla stiffened at the mention of the WWE champion's name.

"He doesn't count."

"Layla, he carried her out of there and carried her to the car-"

"Oh, yes, and that suddenly makes it all better, doesn't it?" Layla shot back at him, the woman doing her best to keep her voice quiet as she spoke, and doing a fairly good job of it, actually. The tone of her voice, however, made it feel almost as though she was yelling at him. "Oh, wait... No, it doesn't. He lied, Kofi. He lied to AJ Lee about dating Eve, and look at the mess that it got Eve into. Not only was she challenged to a match by a psychotic little brat - which she managed to win - but she was attacked after the match and hit with a steel pipe! More than once! She probably has busted ribs. And if she hadn't moved at the last moment, she'd probably have a busted head, too!"

Kofi winced at that last bit, knowing it was true - he'd seen enough of a replay on one of the monitors as he'd made his way to where the others were to know how close of a call it had been for Eve. She was lucky that the second blow had hit her in the shoulder and not the head. Even luckier that AJ's blows had become wild after that, not seeming to really hit Eve at all.

"I know, Layla. I know she could have been hurt badly. I'm not denying that. I saw some of the replay and... She barely got out of the way in time. I know that. I know she's hurt and that it could have been a lot worse, but... I don't believe, not for a moment, that CM Punk intended for this to happen."

"Then why did he do it? Why did he send AJ in Eve's direction?" the woman snapped. "Answer me that."

"I don't think... I don't think he ever thought that AJ would even challenge Eve to a match, much less... Damn it. I know he didn't want her hurt. After the match had been made tonight, he showed up at my locker room, and he knew he'd screwed up. He just didn't know how to fix it. He figured that Laurinaitis wouldn't believe him if he went and told him that it was a lie and that he was just trying to get AJ to leave him alone."

"Oh, was that what it was? A way to get AJ to go and bug someone else?" Layla snapped out, and Kofi frowned.

"Yeah. What else would it be-"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe a way to take care of two birds with one stone? Get AJ away from him and hurt the Laurinaitis regime at the same time? Specifically Eve-"

"Wait, what? You think he meant for... Layla, no. You can't believe that he would-"

"I am a grown woman capable of making up my own mind. That means you don't get to tell me what I can and can't believe. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go and see if I can get news on my friend."


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer, etc., in part 1.

Part Fifteen

John Laurinaitis had thought he was punishing CM Punk by forcing him to stay for his match that night. In reality, he was punishing Punk's opponent, because the last thing anybody would have wanted to do with the mood the WWE champion was in was actually face him in a match. Triple H had actually declared it a no disqualification match, and Punk had ended up beating the holy hell out of Mark Henry with just about every weapon he could get his hands on. Not even the strongest man alive could do a lot if he couldn't stand, and Punk had paid special attention to the big man's knees.

It was interesting what total fury could do to a person. Especially since Punk had sort of been pretending Henry was the General Manager for much of the match.

"Well, that will teach Laurinaitis to piss you off, then put you in a match," a droll voice said, and the WWE champion paused in the process of unwrapping the tape from his wrists to look over at the acting COO of the WWE.

"Yeah, well, he should have let me take Eve to the hospital instead of making me stay. Hell, he should have never put her in a match with a nutjob like AJ." He looked over at Triple H. "AJ's going to be punished, isn't she?" he wanted to know, and Triple H heaved out a sigh.

"That doesn't actually fall under my jurisdiction. Not without board approval, anyway. Apparently, back when I fired R-Truth and the Miz last fall, I overstepped my bounds. I can recommend that the little crazy be suspended for awhile, but I doubt it will happen. A fine could happen, since she used a weapon after the match and all. But this is the WWE... Where Kane can throw a guy off the stage and still have a match at the next pay per view. And face it: I'm pretty sure Mark Henry's going to need an MRI on both of his knees after what you just did to him."

"He shouldn't have gone out there to face me with the mood I'm in. And Laurinaitis is the one that made the match and insisted it had to happen anyway, so... It is what it is. If he wanted to be mad at someone, he can be mad at his precious General Manager. Not that he's in much condition to do anything about it, anyway."

"Not if you screwed up his knees, and I'm thinking that you did."

"The guy walks around putting about four hundred pounds of weight on those knees every damn day. They're bound to give him trouble at some point," Punk replied, ripping the last of the tape off and tossing it in the trash. "If you're not going to yell at me for going batshit crazy on one of the other wrestlers tonight, why are you even here in my locker room?" he wanted to know, and Triple H arched a brow at him, remaining silent for a beat before heaving out a sigh and responding.

"Kofi's been keeping me updated about the situation with Eve," the man said, watching as Punk's shoulders stiffened at his words. The current WWE champion spun around to look at him, pinning him with an intense gaze.

"Is she okay? Is she out of the hospital-"

"She's still there."

"They're keeping her? Is it that bad-"

"She's in the ER at a major hospital in a major city. If a person isn't bleeding copiously from various wounds or having a heart attack or something, then they sometimes have to wait awhile before they're treated. As far as I know, Eve's injuries aren't terribly serious. Yes, she'll probably be held out of the ring for awhile, and I intend to make sure that her status as being not medically cleared to wrestle is plastered all over the place so Laurinaitis can't lie and say he didn't know and then try to put her in a match," the man said, then scowled. "I wouldn't put it past him to try."

"Why won't he just target me instead?" Punk questioned, and the man known as the Cerebral Assassin gave him an 'are you serious' sort of look.

"Since we already discussed this once tonight, I'm going to pretend that question was really just you *wishing* he would just target you and leave Eve out of it."

Punk jerked a hand through his hair. "It is. Mostly. But maybe if we can convince him of how much Eve actually hates me he'll leave her alone or something."

"Not likely, and you know it, kid. It's not really about her or how she feels, not to him. It's about you. You know how much that man hates you. And he saw the way you acted tonight. Whether he believes you and Eve were ever together or not is no longer the issue. The issue is that you ran out there to her rescue, carried her to the back, threw a fit when you couldn't go to the hospital with her, and then you beat the ever-loving shit out of your opponent tonight because he made you stay for your match."

"What the hell was I supposed to do? And the match was no DQ - you made it that way - so everything I did to Mark Henry was well within the realm of the rules."

"I'm not saying it wasn't. I'm just saying that you made it all too obvious that you actually care what happens to Eve-"

"It was my fault! I got her into this mess. Of course I care what happens to her, whether I want to or not. I'm the one that opened my big fucking mouth."

"That you are. But actions speak even louder than words do, Punk. And now that John Laurinaitis has seen you run out there like some kind of mob was chasing you in order to get to Eve tonight... Now that he's seen how you reacted to her being hurt... Whether you're with her or not, he's knows that making her life miserable is a way to get to you. Maybe because he thinks you actually care about her, but maybe just because he knows it will make you feel guilty because you'll know you're the reason he's after her," Triple H said, his gaze sliding down to where CM Punk's hands were clenching into fists. "Hey, I'm just the messenger, man. No need to take a swing at me."

"I know."

"Good. You should also know that, even if Eve hates your guts, even if you try and distance yourself from her, he's going to use her against you. He'll make her miserable because he knows you'll feel guilty about it. You have to figure out a way to handle that before she's cleared to wrestle again."

"I know. And I will."

"You damn well better."

"You know, you could always just fire Laurinaitis or something-"

"Actually, no, I can't. The board approval thing and all. But I can make his life more difficult. And trust me, Punk. After what I saw tonight... I'm kind of looking forward to it."


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer, etc., in part 1.

Part Sixteen

"You are a lucky young woman."

Eve looked up, trying not to glare at the doctor that was in front of her, finishing up signing off on the paperwork that would release her from the hospital. "I don't feel very lucky."

"Maybe not at the moment, but you'll come to realize that it could have been much worse. You said you were hit with a steel pipe, correct?"

"Yeah. After I won my match fair and square and my opponent went absolutely crazy on me," the diva said, knowing she was giving more information than she needed to, but still more than a little upset about what had happened that night. In fact, she was moving from just 'upset' to 'angry' and would likely be up to 'pissed off' before long.

"Then as I said... You are lucky. Whoever hit you didn't have the strength to put behind the blow to do too much damage. I'm not saying it doesn't hurt. You have three bruised ribs, and your shoulder is going to be sore and swollen and bruised on well. Enough so that I'll need you to keep it in that sling for about a week to try and give it time to heal without moving it too much."

Eve nodded at that, looking down at the sling that was currently holding her arm immobile. Thankfully it had been her left shoulder and not her right. She'd have been in an even bigger mess if she hadn't been able to use her right arm for a week or more. "I'll do my best," she muttered, frowning slightly, figuring that was the best she could really say. She lived alone, after all, and there was only so much she could do with only one arm.

"You'll have to be careful, Miss Torres-"

"She will be," Layla piped up from where she was standing in the corner, the other diva having come to check on her earlier, then more or less stayed. She'd checked in with Kofi once or twice, just to let him know what was going on, but she'd mostly been in the hospital room with Eve. "I'll make sure she gets anything you prescribed filled, and I'm sure she'll make sure and take it."

"What I'm prescribing is just a higher dose than you can get over-the-counter of ibuprofen. It's an anti-inflammatory, which will help with swelling. That, combined with ice packs alternated with heating pads, it about all I can say to do. There's no structural damage, the ribs are just bruised, not cracked or broken... though I would suggest keeping them wrapped for at least the next few days," the doctor said. The badge hanging from a lanyard around her neck identified her as Dr. Sylvia Hudgins. She appeared to be in her mid-to-late forties and, shockingly enough, she hadn't looked horrified or disgusted when she'd learned what Eve did for a living and how she'd gotten hurt. Too many people looked at wrestlers with disdain and acted as if they'd asked for the injuries they'd received. Of course, it was a little hard to say that Eve had 'asked' to be attacked by some crazy with a freaking steel pipe.

Dr. Hudgins cleared her throat. "I will be writing out instructions that you will not be cleared to compete until two weeks from tomorrow. That should give you enough time to recover, and I'm requiring that even then, you have to see another doctor for clearance before you compete," she said, handing Eve the note, as well as any other information she would need. "Other than that, you're free to go."

"Thank you, doctor. I'll try not to wrestle against crazy people in the future," Eve stated before sliding off the edge of the exam table, allowing Layla to grab her purse for her, the diva smiling and thanking the doctor again before she followed the divas' champion out of the room and back toward the waiting area, where Kofi Kingston was supposed to be waiting for them.

He wasn't.

"I wonder where he went?" Layla mused, the woman frowning as she looked around... Then relaxing when she saw the man stepping back through the entrance. "Oh, he must have stepped out for some air-"

"Actually, I was making a couple of phone calls," Kofi said, looking at Eve's purse like he was going to offer to carry it, but then perhaps thinking better of it. Layla was perfectly capable of carrying two purses, and most men weren't comfortable carrying a woman's purse in public. His gaze slid back to Eve, eyeing the sling that her arm was currently in. "How bad's the damage?"

"Bruised ribs, not broken or cracked. The doctor wants me to wear the sling for a week, give time for the swelling and bruising to go down in the shoulder," the woman said. "I'll be fine in a couple of weeks."

"Hope she gave you a note to keep you from competing."

"She did," Layla said. "Eve cannot compete until two weeks from tomorrow... So fifteen days, I suppose, and even then, she has to get a doctor's clearance first. It should keep Laurinaitis from finding any loopholes."

"Make some copies, make sure to keep the original, and make sure Triple H gets one," Kofi said, then lifted his phone. "I've kept in touch with the boss a little bit. He was concerned."

Layla arched a brow. "What? You haven't been running out there to give updates to your little friend that caused all this trouble?" she tossed at him, and Kofi sighed.

"Punk had a match, so no. However, Triple H told me that CM Punk was so pissed off about having to stay for his match that he beat the shit out of Mark Henry tonight. The match was turned into a no DQ, and from what Triple H was saying, Mark Henry was practically begging for mercy by the end of it. Don't know if that's an exaggeration or not, but... Henry's knees might by screwed up after what Punk did to him," Kofi said, then looked at Eve. "He never meant for you to get hurt. And come tomorrow, he may feel a little bad about taking out his frustration on Mark Henry. Then again, Mark Henry's tried to kill him in a couple of matches recently, so maybe not. Point I'm trying to make is that Punk's worried about you, and he never meant for this to happen," he told the diva, and Eve arched a brow at him in response, refusing to be moved by Punk's supposed concern for her.

"Well, then, I guess he shouldn't have lied to AJ and started this whole mess in the first place."


	17. Chapter 17

Thanks to everyone still reading this one.

Disclaimer, etc., in part 1.

Part Seventeen

He lay on the bed in his hotel room, the man staring up at the ceiling instead of paying attention to the late-night horror flick that was playing on the television screen. At the sound of a knock on the door, he turned his head, staring at the door for a moment, almost as if he was trying to figure out if the knock had really come. After a brief pause, there was another knock, and he rolled off the bed and onto his feet, making his way over toward the door, not bothering to look through the peephole to see who it was before opening it. Thankfully, it wasn't some crazy fan or a freak like AJ out there; instead, it was Kofi Kingston, and CM Punk quickly stepped back to allow the man entrance into the room.

"You look like shit, dude," Kofi said as he looked his friend over, the man closing the door behind him as he stepped into the room.

"I feel like shit," was the reply as Punk made his way back over to the bed and flopped down again, staring up at the ceiling. "I totally fucked things up tonight-"

"Look, man-"

"She's hurt because of me, and we both know that Laurinaitis won't let it end at that. Even if Triple H makes sure that it's screamed from the mountaintops or whatever that she isn't cleared to compete, Johnny Ace is going to do everything he can to make her life miserable. Technically, she's the executive administrator right now. He's her boss, and even if she can't compete... He can embarrass the hell out of her." Punk spat the words out as if they tasted bad, and Kofi couldn't really blame him for it. After all, the guy felt guilty as hell over what had happened tonight - over what could continue to happen - and, well... As much as Punk was his friend and all, the guilt was kind of warranted. Not that he was really going to say it or anything, because the guy already felt like total shit about what was happening. He didn't think it was necessary to try and heap more guilt onto him.

"Maybe you can get Triple H to say she can't be required to come back until she's medically cleared to wrestle or something," Kofi offered, the man making his way over to one of the chairs in the room and taking a seat. "Which, by the way, is going to be at least two weeks. The doctor said she has to be re-evaluated in fifteen days and only if she gets clearance then is she okay to get back in the ring. That will give her a few days to prepare even after being cleared to wrestle. Hopefully."

"How bad is she hurt?" Punk asked then, his voice soft, the man still staring up at the ceiling and totally avoiding look at his friend. Kofi could see a muscle working in his friend's face, the set of his jaw, and he knew Punk was upset and trying to hold it in.

"Her ribs are bruised, not broken. Three bruised ribs. Her shoulder's swollen and sore and probably going to have some mobility trouble until the swelling goes and down and any bruising improves. She's in a sling. But nothing was broken or cracked or anything like that. It could have been a lot worse than it was."

"It would have been if Eve hadn't moved when AJ swung the damned pipe at her head," Punk said tightly, the man sitting up suddenly. He swung his legs so that they were over the side of the bed, his feet on the floor. His elbows rested on his knees, and he put his face in his hands. When he spoke again, his voice was slightly muffled, but be was still easy to understand. "I totally fucked things up. It's one thing to screw things up for me, but... I never meant this. I never meant for her to get hurt, and instead... Now she's hurt, and her job is probably down the drain because Laurinaitis is a giant douchebag."

"Well, that part's on him. Just because she's the executive administrator or whatever doesn't mean that he has the right to tell her who to date."

"He hit on her."

"Excuse me?"

"When she was ranting at me tonight... She came up and slapped me and that's how I found out the match was made."

"Yeah, you sort of came to my locker room and told me that."

"But what I didn't tell you was that, before she ran off, she was ranting at me and... She let it slip that the only reason Laurinaitis hasn't fired her is because she threatened to sue him if he did. I'm assuming for sexual harassment. She basically said that she didn't give him what he wanted and... I don't know, maybe she has incriminating voicemails or something that would prove that he harassed her, so he knew he couldn't fire her for it. And now he thinks she's dating me. The person he hates most. So... He thinks he lost out on getting Eve because of me. Of course, as far as I know, she's not actually dating anybody, so obviously he just didn't have a shot in hell with her anyway, but... Now he thinks she said no to him and that she was running off saying yes to me. And probably laughing at him while running off to me."

Kofi arched a brow, the man frowning a bit at that, then tilting his head as he considered something. "You think she really has proof?"

Punk lifted his head from his hands in order to look at the other man. "Proof that Johnny Ace harassed her? I'd be willing to bet on it. I mean, she has to have something against him, otherwise it's just he said, she said, and if he pulled out the video of John Cena and Zack Ryder calling her names, then he could probably convince at least some people that it was her fault or something. Her 'past behavior' or something. And then there are people that would just believe she asked for it simply 'cause she's gorgeous. He wouldn't be worried if she didn't have something on him."

"Then maybe that's the way we take this."

"Maybe I'm just tired or my brain's fried from freaking out and feeling guilty, but I'm not following."

"If that woman has something on him, then maybe she can use it to keep him from going after her. Or maybe she can use it to get him fired once and for all. He gets fired, he can't hurt her. All you can do is try."

"She's not going to talk to me, Kofi."

"Maybe not. And if she doesn't, then I'll talk to her. But you've got to try it first. You gotta face her sometime. Got it?"

"Yeah, I got it. Not sure I like it, though."

"You don't have to."


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer, etc., in part 1.

Just a quick note: The pairing for this particular story is listed as _eventual_ Eve/CM Punk. Yes, they are the pairing for the story; yes, they will be together, but it's going to take awhile for them to get together.

As usual, thanks to those that are still reading this one, and those that have reviewed/favorited/followed this one.

* * *

Part Eighteen

She was going to be at the arena tonight.

Triple H had given him the heads-up, calling Punk to tell him that while he'd managed to make it very, very clear that Eve Torres was not cleared to compete, John Laurinaitis had still insisted that the woman be there as the executive administrator. CM Punk took that as a clue that Laurinaitis was probably planning on doing something humiliating to Eve... Or maybe he was planning to put her in a potentially dangerous situation where she wouldn't be able to defend herself due to her injuries. Whatever the case, the WWE champion planned to be there to stop it. He was actually grateful to Triple H for letting him know that she was going to be there... And hey, what a surprise: being grateful to Triple H for anything. But really... He'd be thrilled to have someone like Triple H acting as the General Manager again instead of that asshole John Laurinaitis.

Shaking his head, CM Punk rounded a corner in the arena, stopping short as he caught sight of the one person he had come to SmackDown that week to see.

Eve Torres.

She was moving cautiously, not surprising given the bruised ribs, and she had her arm in a sling. Her gaze was constantly darting around as if she expected someone to try and attack her or something, and it was because of her hyper-awareness of her surroundings that she saw him almost immediately, the diva standing up a bit straighter at the sight of him, her expression entirely closed-off.

"What are you doing here?" she asked stiffly, and he couldn't blame her for the question. After all, while a lot of the SmackDown roster - and a few on the RAW roster - would appear on both shows, it was actually pretty rare for him to be on SmackDown. And technically, he wasn't actually on the show tonight. He was just there.

"I came to see you," he told her, figuring that beating around the bush would just be stupid. He'd fucked things up by telling a lie; he was going to be honest now as he tried to fix things.

"Why? Need to see your handiwork?"

"I didn't mean for you to get hurt. I never thought... I underestimated how screwed up AJ is. I thought making her believe I was taken would send her off in another direction. I didn't think she would come after you," he told her, moving closer to her as he spoke, until he was finally standing directly in front of the woman. He was relieved so see that she didn't flinch away from him or try to walk off. She didn't exactly welcome his presence, either, but at least she stayed where she was.

"Why should I believe you? I mean, you hate me-"

"I don't hurt women. I wouldn't purposely send some nutjob after you to hurt you. I never..." He shook his head, jerking his hands through his hair. "Can we talk? Somewhere that isn't in the middle of a damned hallway? Laurinaitis doesn't know I'm here yet. I'd like to keep it that way if I can, at least for a little while."

Eve tilted her head to the side slightly, the diva eyeing him. "He didn't make you come?" she asked, and he shook his head.

"No. I'm pretty sure he has no clue that I'm here," the wrestler admitted. "I found out that he was making you come tonight, so I showed up, too. He's... I don't trust him not to try and humiliate you or put you in danger. I'm here to stop whatever he has planned."

The diva didn't look surprised about what Punk thought Laurinaitis had in store for her tonight, which really made sense. Eve was a smart lady, and she'd seen how the man operated. Anyone that went against him got punished in some way, and the man clearly believed that Eve had gone against him.

Eve arched a brow at him. "Feeling guilty?" she questioned, and Punk heaved out a sigh.

"Yes," he admitted, noting the way her eyes widened in surprise at his reply. She'd clearly expected him to give some excuse or lengthy reasons and not really admit that he was feeling guilty about things. "I feel guilty because you got hurt because of my lie. It was something I never intended. Now please... Can we talk?"

"Okay."

Punk nodded, the man actually relieved by how this conversation was going. Okay, yes, Eve wasn't thrilled to see him, and she still didn't like him and probably seriously blamed him for her injuries, but at least she was talking and not yelling and she actually seemed to be listening to him.

"Okay. Good. Kofi's got a locker room, just around the corner. He said that we could use it to talk. Of course, I don't think he really expected me to be able to convince you to talk to me," the man said, and Eve averted her gaze for a moment, then met his eyes again, the woman sighing softly, wincing a little at the pull on her ribs as she did so. That little wince was like a kick to the gut for Punk, a reminder that she was hurt because of his lie, but he didn't say anything about it.

"I have to admit that I wasn't exactly planning to have a talk with you, either... And not just because I thought you wouldn't be here," she said softly. "Before I go anywhere with you, though, there's one thing I want to ask you. And I want you to look me in the eye when you answer."

"Okay," the WWE champion said, figuring that he owed her whatever answer she wanted. He shifted a little closer to her, meeting her gaze. "What is it?"

"Layla seems to believe that you did this on purpose. I know you've protested that you didn't mean for this to happen, but I want to look you in the eye when you answer me this time. I want to see the look in your eyes when you say it. She thinks that you chose me for your lie to both rid yourself of AJ and to hurt Laurinaitis's regime. Specifically me. Did you?"

He looked her in the eye. "No. I wanted AJ to leave me alone. I admit that. But you're the one diva in this company that I thought she couldn't touch. That she wouldn't dare touch. You were in a position of power. I thought the lie couldn't hurt you because I thought AJ would never dare to come after you. I was wrong, and I am so sorry," he told her, never breaking their gaze, his eyes locked with hers and, after a long moment, the woman nodded.

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"I believe you. Now let's go to Kofi's locker room."


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer, etc., in part 1. Thanks to all that have reviewed/followed/favorited this one. :) Hope you continue to enjoy.

Part Nineteen

He hadn't expected her to come with him. Really, he hadn't expected her to do anything more than slap him with her good hand and stalk off. But instead, here she was, cautiously following him into Kofi's locker room... Not looking scared of him, really, but still looking uncertain, like she didn't know what to expect. He supposed he couldn't blame her for that. Yes, she seemed to believe that he'd never meant for her to get hurt, but that didn't mean she really and truly trusted him, and Punk wasn't sure what he could do - if anything - to change that.

"Here. Have a seat," he said after a moment, jerking a hand through his hair, frowning as he watched her, the man reaching out to get the straps of her bag and purse and pull them from her good shoulder, not wanting to see her possibly struggle to do it herself. Her head jerked up at the action, the diva seemingly surprised that he was so close to her, but she allowed him to take her things and put them down on the bench, then sat down next to her bags, frowning as she looked up at him.

"I don't know what else you have to say to me. You've said your apologies."

"I have. I guess. But... This isn't over, and you know it. We both know it. Laurinaitis doesn't believe that I was lying when I told AJ that we were together," he stated, watching the way Eve lowered her gaze at his words, the woman no longer looking at him.

"I can handle it."

"You shouldn't have to. It's my fault that he believes what he believes. It was my lie. And he's going to make you pay for it." He gestured to her shoulder. "You already are paying for it."

"Punk-"

"I can't just stand by and watch him hurt you. I know that he can't put you in a match. Kofi told me that you're not cleared to wrestle, and Triple H promised that he would make sure that there was no way that Laurinaitis could pretend he didn't know you don't have medical clearance... But he can still humiliate you."

"I've been humiliated before," Eve said softly, evenly, and Punk flinched a bit at the words, remembering the whole mess she'd been involved in with earlier in the year. The way John Cena had treated her.

"I'm not going to let John Laurinaitis humiliate you in retaliation for what I said. For the lie I told. I can't stand by and watch it."

"And if you don't, it will just reinforce the lie."

"I know. And I'm sorry, but... I'm not letting you get punished for my lie. Not more than you already have. I just... Who's to say that, if I don't try to stop it... It won't just get worse? He could just keep trying and trying, doing worse and worse things, treating you more and more horribly until he *does* get a reaction out of me. He's a vindictive bastard, Eve."

"I know he is," the diva muttered, looking like she wanted to bury her face in her hands, but she really couldn't do that since one of her arms was currently in a sling. Instead, she lifted her good hand, ran it over her face. "Don't think that I don't know..."

"Eve, you said before that you threatened to sue him if he fired you. You didn't give him what he wanted and all of that," Punk said, his tone a bit urgent as he moved to sit beside her... Relieved when she didn't move away from him.

"I never meant to tell you that," she said softly, looking a little embarrassed, and he supposed that was because she didn't want anyone to know that Laurinaitis had harassed her. Probably because she figured that there were people out there - people like Cena and Ryder and some of the fans - that would think she deserved the harassment.

"I know. I know it just slipped out because you were angry. But I'm glad that it did. Granted, it made me feel even more like shit for everything, but... It also gave me a better idea of the truth. Eve... Do you have proof that he harassed you?" the WWE champion wanted to know and, for a long moment, he was afraid she wasn't going to answer him, but then she sighed.

"I did. I don't any longer."

"You got rid of it."

"No. I thought it was safe, but it wasn't. After... After he made me fire the Bella twins, they sort of... I kept a copy of the audio file on a flash drive attached to my keychain. After he sent me to tell the Bellas that their contract wasn't being renewed, they stole my stuff and tossed it in the shower. On top of it getting wet, they also smashed the flash drive. They didn't know what was on it, but I'm sure they figured that if I kept it with my keys, then it was probably important to me. It's gone. Laurinaitis doesn't know it, but it's gone," the diva said, turning her head to look at him. "I shouldn't have brought it to the arenas with me. I shouldn't-"

"But you felt safer having it. He tried something, you could immediately make sure it got to someone that could make things miserable for him. I'm sorry it got destroyed. We could have tried to use it against him. You know Triple H would have... Damn it."

"I'm sorry."

"You didn't know the Bellas would mess with your stuff."

"I should have had another copy. I managed to get the voicemails off my phone, put them on the drive as an audio file... I figured that was safer because then I would have a copy if they were accidentally deleted-"

"Do you still have the phone? Maybe if they were deleted, they can be retrieved-"

"No. The Bella's destroyed my phone, too, and I'd had to change my phone number around that time anyway because Zack Ryder thought it was funny to post it online so people could call and harass me."

"Asshole."

Eve gave a one-armed shrug. "He's just an immature little boy. A little boy that used to brag about how he was going to get with me. About how he was going to do the hottest chick on the roster. I was never a person to him. I was just a body. A body he wanted. Just another goal he wanted to attain. He didn't give a damn about me. The only good thing I can say is that he never got what he wanted," she said quietly, and she looked so sad at that moment, so tired and lonely and... defeated, that Punk couldn't help but reach out to her, his hand sliding down her good arm before finding her hand and tangling his fingers with her own.

"Eve," he began, not sure what he was really going to say, but that didn't really matter, because suddenly the door to the locker room swung open and someone was standing in the doorway.

"Well, there you are. I didn't mean to interrupt," the man in the doorway said, and Punk didn't even have to turn his head to know who was standing there.

John Laurinaitis.


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer, etc., in part 1. Thanks to those that are still reading/reviewing this one! :)

Part Twenty

He could feel Eve's fingers tighten on his as she registered the presence of John Laurinaitis, and Punk fought the urge to wince at her tightened grip even as he shifted forward a little, doing what he could do put himself between Eve and the General Manager without forcing her to let go of his hand.

"What do you want?" the WWE champion demanded, glaring at the man, and Laurinaitis had the nerve to actually smirk at him.

"Oh, there are a lot of things I want, CM Punk. One of those things is for people to stop lying to me-"

"Eve didn't lie to you. We're not together. You can believe it or not, but it's the truth. I lied to AJ to get her off my back. I never thought she would challenge Eve or attack her. I never meant for Eve to get hurt."

"What a lovely sentiment," Laurinaitis said, his gaze falling back to Eve and Punk's joined hands... And this time, the woman realized the direction of his gaze, quickly releasing the WWE champion's hand and shifting slightly away from him, wincing at the pull in her ribs as she did so. Laurinaitis smirked as he looked down at her, almost as if he was pleased by the evidence of her pain, and Punk's jaw tightened in anger as he rose to his feet.

"I don't know what the hell you have planned for tonight, but it's not going to happen. She can't wrestle. You know that. I know Triple H made it very clear to you that she's not medically cleared."

"Triple H? I haven't spoken to him in days. And as he's not here tonight-"

"That's where you're wrong, Johnny," a new voice said, the door to the locker room swinging open further as the acting COO of the company spoke. Triple H pushed his way into the room, seemingly uncaring that he knocked the General Manager several steps to the side as he did so. As he stepped into the room, he glanced at the name on the locker room door, then gave a slight shrug of his shoulders. "Should have realized that this is where you would be."

Laurinaitis frowned. "Why would you think I would be in Kofi Kingston's locker room?"

"Not you. Punk," Triple H replied, earning an angry look from the GM.

"So you knew that he was going to show up uninvited-"

"I told him that he was welcome to come, so he's not really uninvited. He is, after all, the WWE champion. I think he should be welcome on all shows. Anyway, obviously I knew he would be here tonight," the man said, turning his attention away from Laurinaitis and instead looking toward Eve, who was still seated on the bench, Punk standing so that the woman was partially hidden from view, the WWE champion's stance protective. He arched a brow at that, though he didn't comment on it, instead addressing Eve. "Ms. Torres."

"Triple H," she responded, nodding slightly in greeting. She winced again as she shifted on the bench, and Triple H frowned at the sign of her pain.

"I am very sorry about the injuries that you suffered the other night on RAW. I'm glad they weren't worse. I did, of course, receive the information regarding your medical clearance, and I also made sure that Mr. Laurinaitis was aware that you aren't medically cleared to compete. I have a copy of the fax I sent him, the memo that I emailed him and, of course, I have a tape of the conversation that I had with him when I called to inform him of it." He smirked as he looked over at Laurinaitis. "I'm sure I sent you the memo stating that calls between us regarding the talent may be monitored. Just to be on the safe side, of course."

Laurinaitis looked like he was fuming. "Be that as it may, Miss Torres is still a part of my staff-"

"That she is. And I'm sure you got my additional memo that stated that I would be traveling with the shows for awhile, as a way to continue to evaluate your performance. There have just been so many interruptions whenever you've been up for a performance review. And as I will be on the road for awhile, I will need someone to assist me while I'm on the road. With my paperwork, keeping up with phone calls, and things like that. So I'm stealing the executive administrator and having her work as my assistant for... I'd say at least the next two weeks. Possibly longer, if I remain on the road," the man said, then turned to look at Eve once more, actually having to lean a little bit in order to see her since CM Punk was now standing almost entirely in front of her, shielding her from view... and from the increasingly angry looks that Laurinaitis was sending her way. "I hope you don't have any issues with working with me, Ms. Torres."

"She is my employee-"

"She's an employee of the WWE. As both a competitor and an administrator. I outrank you. Therefore, if I need to borrow a member of the staff for awhile, then I am fully within my rights as one of your bosses to do so. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to my office for the night. It used to be yours, but, well... I moved you to the smaller one down the hall," Triple H said, then held out a hand toward Eve. "Ms. Torres? Shall we go?"

The diva bit her lip, then rose to her feet, the movements a bit jerky because of her rib injury... CM Punk quickly moving to help her, his arm wrapped securely around her waist for a moment. When he noticed the diva didn't pull away from the champion, Triple H didn't say anything, though surprise flickered briefly over his face. With Eve on her feet, Triple H reached out to get her things for her, then offered the diva his arm, which she cautiously took.

"Punk? You are, of course, welcome to join us."

"Better company with the two of you than with that one," Punk replied, gesturing toward Laurinaitis as he spoke, and the General Manager shot all three of them a nasty look.

"I wouldn't go too far, Punk. If you're here, I think you may as well be put in a match tonight. I'm sure you'd like to take the time to prepare-"

"I'll be ready. I'm always ready. And since I figured you wouldn't pass up the chance to put me in a match, I've got my gear. Do your worst, Johnny. I don't really care," Punk said, heading for the door with Triple H and Eve, only pausing when Laurinaitis called out to him again.

"Don't you want to know who you're facing?" he asked, and Punk shrugged his shoulders.

"It doesn't matter. I don't care who you put in that ring to face me. When the bell rings to end the match, I'm still going to be the one to be able to walk away. So be careful which of your goons you choose to face me. Because whoever you send out there? Won't be the same when I'm done with them."


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer, etc., in part 1. Thanks to those that are sticking with this one. :)

* * *

Part Twenty-One

"I'd really like to kick his ass."

Triple H looked over from where he was making sure that Eve was comfortably seated, the man arching a brow at the current WWE champion. "Considering the fact that you once gave the guy the GTS, I can't say I'm surprised by that," he said, and Punk shrugged.

"I wanted to kick his ass then. But I want it even more now. You heard what he was saying. He would have tried to force Eve into competition and claimed that he didn't know she wasn't cleared or something. He was standing there lying through his fucking teeth and saying that he hadn't spoken to you-"

"And then I reminded him of all the proof I have that he's full of shit about that," Triple H broke in, arching a brow at the younger man. "I get you're pissed. I am, too. Unfortunately, there's only so much I can do to the bastard without board approval," he said, then looked over at Eve, who was seated on the couch, her good arm banded across her ribs as she sat there. "I was telling the truth when I said I was going to steal you from his administration while I was on the road. But what I didn't tell him is that I'm planning to stay on the road until I figure out a way to make him end up gone. I can keep you as my assistant until then, but..."

"But once I'm medically cleared to wrestle, you can't stop him from putting me in a match because I'm still a wrestler and he's still the General Manager of both shows," Eve said quietly when he trailed off, and Triple H nodded his head.

"That's right. If I could do more-"

"As long as he can't put me into a match until I'm medically cleared, then I'll handle whatever comes after that. I'm tougher than I look. Even though I am currently on the injured list." Eve pursed her lips, looking at the COO. "Is AJ Lee here tonight? Do I need to worry..."

"I don't know. Even though she's been appearing on RAW a lot lately, she is technically still listed on the SmackDown roster at the moment, but we all know that the roster split doesn't really apply that much anymore. Especially now that both shows have the same General Manager," Triple H stated, then frowned. "Is there anyone else that we need to have come in here, just in case? Like your friend Layla?"

Eve shook her head, looking a little surprised at having Layla called her friend... But the truth was, with what had happened a few days before, Layla had quite obviously proven herself to be a good friend, even if the friendship of sorts had only popped up very recently. "No. She's not even here tonight. She was technically supposed to be - divas' champion and all - but she called me Wednesday night to tell me that she'd gotten a call saying that she was being sent on some appearances. Very short notice. She's all the way on the other side of the country right now and will be until RAW on Monday," the woman said, and Punk bit out a rather colorful curse word in response. Eve arched a brow at him, and the man sighed.

"You're a smart woman, Eve. I'm sure you know why he made sure that Layla was elsewhere. He's got Kofi facing Ziggler tonight, which means Swagger will be out there. And R-Truth is conveniently at public appearances just like Layla is. Whatever Laurinaitis had planned for you... He was hoping that Ziggler and Swagger would make sure that Kofi was out of the picture, and he sent Layla away. And he didn't expect me or Triple H to be here. He wanted to make sure that whatever humiliation he had set up - or whatever match he might have tried to put you into - couldn't be interrupted," the WWE champion said, clearly furious as he paced back and forth across the length of the room... So intent in his own thoughts that he didn't even realize that Eve had painstakingly made her way to her feet and come over to him until he nearly ran into her. Eyes wide, his hands came up to rest on her hips, the man clearly bothered by the fact that he'd almost walked right into the injured diva. "Eve-"

"It's okay. I'm okay. You didn't... I just think you need to calm down."

"I'm not going to calm down. This is my fault. I put you in this position-"

"You told a lie that got out of hand. I told you before... I believe that you didn't mean for me to get hurt. And you showed up tonight because you wanted to protect me. That's kind of... It's a sign of someone that really is sorry," she said quietly, her eyes on his, and the man stared at her for a moment, and then nodded slightly.

"I... It just doesn't really feel like enough."

"Well, considering the fact that it seems like you may have stopped Laurinaitis's plan for tonight... It's a good start," she said, and Punk frowned as he looked at her, noting that her eyes looked like they were full of tears. Carefully, he reached out to her, lightly touched her face.

"Eve?"

She shook her head. "It's nothing. I just... I..." She heaved out a breath, wincing a little at the pull the motion caused on her ribs. Out of the corner of his eye, Punk could see Triple H making his way toward the door, the man stepping out to give them a moment, and as soon as the other man had left, he returned his full attention to the diva, lifting his other hand and bringing it to her cheek as well so that his hands were cupping her face, his eyes locked on hers.

"You were prepared to be hurt or humiliated tonight, weren't you? No Layla, Kofi facing stacked odds against Ziggler with Swagger out there. You sure as hell didn't expect me to show up. Or Triple H to go all white knight on you. That's what this is, isn't it?" he questioned and, after a moment, Eve nodded.

"I just thought..." She shook her head. "He's not going to give up, you know. The more you protect me, the more he thinks that you're getting what he wanted... He's not going to give up."

"Yeah? Well, neither am I."


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer, etc., in part 1. Thanks to everyone that has reviewed/favorited/followed this one.

* * *

Part Twenty-Two

He never called her out. Eve spent the entirety of the show in Triple H's office, most of it sitting on the couch, occasionally going over his memos, but generally just watching the show... The diva waiting for John Laurinaitis to go out there and demand that she show her face, but it never came. She'd spent the entire show on pins and needles and... Nothing. Not even when CM Punk made his way out to the ring for a rare appearance on SmackDown, the man facing off against Jack Swagger and winning decisively thanks to a well-timed GTS after Ziggler had tried to interfere on Swagger's behalf and accidentally hit Jack instead of Punk. She imagined that Laurinaitis hadn't been happy about Punk's win, but with Triple H there, he had probably felt that he couldn't go out there and reverse the decision or anything. And maybe that was why he hadn't called her out there tonight. Maybe Triple H's presence had kept it from happening. Maybe he had been afraid of the consequences if he tried to pull off his revenge. Well, not just Triple H's presence. He'd clearly been surprised by the WWE champion's presence as well.

Shifting a bit on the couch she was seated on, Eve looked over at the acting COO of the company. "Looks like his evil plans were thwarted... At least for tonight, anyway."

"Well, I was here... Punk was here. He knew that neither of us would just stand in the back and do nothing if he tried something with you," the Game stated. "He sure as hell knew he couldn't try and put you in a match, which is what I suspect he would have done if I wasn't here... The fact that you aren't medically cleared be damned."

"Seems kind of anticlimactic," the diva mused, then frowned as she rose to her feet. "He won't be satisfied, you know. Until he gets what he deems to be his revenge."

"And why is it, really, that he wants revenge on you so badly? Even if you were dating CM Punk - which I know you're not - what business is it of his?" Triple H wanted to know, and Eve started to shrug, then flinched at the pain that caused her. Yeah. Not a good idea to shrug with her arm in a sling because she had a screwed up shoulder.

"I don't know."

"I think you do. And I think you should tell me."

Eve glared at him. "I'm not involved with that bastard, if that's what you're asking. I would never let a creep like Laurinaitis touch me-"

"I never said you would. I seem to recall him wanting a hug and getting a handshake when you were added to his administration. I'm guessing that, if anyone behaved inappropriately, it was him," he said, watching as she averted her gaze. "Eve?"

"My proof is gone. I had a file of it, and it was destroyed. As far as I know, he isn't aware it was destroyed. I told him that he had no chance with me, and if he fired me because I wouldn't get involved with him, I'd make everything public. His voice is rather... recognizable, don't you think?"

"I'd say so. Eve, I wish you'd come to me with your proof when he first came after you."

"I wish I had, too. But I didn't, because I wasn't in a position where I felt I could trust much of anybody. And now... He believes that CM Punk has what he wants. Me. And I made it very clear to him that he had no chance with me, so... He's angry. Very angry."

"Which is why he put you in the match against AJ on RAW," the Game said, shaking his head. "Part of me wonders if he knew she would go after you like that."

"I kind of doubt that, actually. AJ's a little unpredictable lately. He probably knew she'd do something... She made Natalya bleed not too long ago. You know that. She knocked Kaitlyn around. Both of them are a lot bigger than her, and even if I'm taller than them... I'd say both of them outweigh me. If she can take them down, he probably figured that she could take me down, too," the diva said, using her good hand to push her hair back from her face. "I imagine he didn't even expect me to win the match... Or if he did, he thought it would be by DQ when AJ went nuts on me or something. Instead, I won... And got bruised ribs and a screwed up shoulder as my parting gift."

"Eve-"

"I'm okay. I came here tonight expecting an absolute disaster. I figured that I would be humiliated and possibly end up more injured than I was when I walked in the door... and now? The show's over, and I'm still okay. Because you were here, and because CM Punk was here. And speaking of the WWE champion... I'm going to go and congratulate him on his match," the diva said, smiling slightly at Triple H before heading for the door, pausing when the man called out to her.

"Hey, Eve?"

"Yes?"

"Are you sure there isn't anything between you and Punk?" he wanted to know, and the woman rolled her eyes.

"There's not. There never has been. I just kind of feel that, right now... He and I are sort of in this together. We're both targets of John Laurinaitis, and he's less likely to win if Punk and I work together," the diva said, and Triple H nodded, Eve giving him one last smile before she walked out the door, making her way quickly through the hallways, heading toward where she figured Punk would be... Since he wasn't exactly expected tonight, he hadn't had his own locker room, and she knew he'd changed for his match in Kofi's locker room. Odds were that was where he'd headed after his match as well.

Shaking her head slightly, the diva continued down the hall, carefully side-stepping anyone that came close to her, the woman not wanting to hit her injured shoulder against anything. Turning another corner, she came to the hallway that Kofi's locker room was in, the woman almost immediately spotting the WWE champion coming out of the room, apparently having showered and changed quickly... The man looking up and smiling as he saw her, the expression surprising Eve a little, because she wasn't exactly used to having Punk smile at her... But then his expression changed, his mouth opened as if to say something...

And Eve felt herself pitch forward as something slammed into her from behind.


End file.
